Keep the Music Rolling
by clr137
Summary: Modern day AU. What happens when Lucy Heartfilia enters Fairy Tail Musical Academy under the name Ashley Davis? What about when she joins a band against the will of our favorite antagonists? And what happens because Lucy sought an escape and a new life, possibly finding love? Read and find out :D
1. Chapter 1: Applying

**(A/N) I do not own Fairy Tail**

 **Hey! In advance, thanks to who ever clicked on this story! Favorites, follows, and comments are much appreciated! I love to see how you think I'm doing, and any suggestions are welcome.**

 **As you should know, assuming you read the story description, is that this fanfiction is centered around music. Soooo, many songs can be found within these chapters. I will make sure to name all songs used per chapter, give credit to the artist who wrote the song, and give a link to a Youtube lyric video. That way, if you don't know the song, you can follow along.**

 **I don't know for sure when I'll update, so I may be a bit sporadic. However, I'm really excited about this fanfic so I shouldn't go on hiatus anytime soon :D**

 **The song used in the chapter is** _ **Closer, Faster**_ **, by Against the Current. The official lyrics video link is as follows :D**

 **watch?v=DRzuBsX4qmE**

* * *

Lucky Lucy Hearfilia strummed her guitar. Familiar chords awakened at her fingertips, played softly because she knew she wasn't supposed to be playing her guitar anymore. Luckily, her servant Virgo had told Lucy that her father, the all powerful business owner Jude Heartfilia, was at a business meeting in Hargeon. He would be gone for a couple of days, which would allow Lucy, with the help of her servants, to make her application video to Fairy Tail Musical Academy.

Fairy Tail Musical Academy was the most prestigious music based high school in Fiore, and Lucy had wanted to go there ever since her mother had told her all about it.

Lucy's mother had died a long time ago. Layla Heartfilia had been a famous musician, and had attended Fairy Tail Musical Academy when she was in high school. She left Fairy Tail Musical Academy with her band, and traveled the world on tours. On one of her tours, Layla met Jude, and they were married immediately. It was love at first sight.

Sadly though, when Layla died, Jude was so in love with her that he took out his anger on his five year old daughter, Lucy. Lucy was abused constantly, and was left to cry on her own. Her servants were her only friends because Lucy had never attended a public school, always having been tutored. Shortly after her mother's death, Lucy began to teach herself to play multiple instruments to take her mind off her physical and emotional pain.

At age fourteen, Jude slowly began to forget about his only daughter.

Now, at age seventeen, Lucy can play the guitar, piano, bass, drums, violin, clarinet... basically any instrument she could get her hands on. Her servants smuggled them to her, wanting dearly to help ease Lucy's pain but not being able to do so directly. Lucy practiced in a soundproof room so that her father couldn't hear her, and so she could someday reach her dream of attending Fairy Tail Musical Academy.

That day was about to come.

A new school year at Fairy Tail Academy was about to begin, and applications were still being accepted. As it was the most prestigious music school in Fiore, barely anyone was accepted, let alone in they're junior year. But Lucy was determined, and confident in her abilities.

"I'm ready, Virgo!" Lucy shouted to her servant, and close friend. Virgo was the one who had smuggled Lucy her first guitar at age six. Aquarius, another servant, had promptly taught Lucy how to play it in the soundproof room, under the suspiciously watchful eyes of Jude Hearfilia. Now, all of her servants, Virgo, Aquarius, Taurus, Loke... were about to help Lucy film her application video.

Because Lucy played so many instruments, they were going to record to audio for the piano, bass, and drums separately, and only film Lucy and her acoustic guitar.

Virgo nodded at Lucy. "Yes, Hime." She steadied the camera positioned on Lucy, capturing the bright blond hair that was pulled into a side ponytail with a pink ribbon, the ripped black skinny jeans and brown ankle boots, tight pink tank top and bright brown eyes, sparkling with excitement.

Loke counted down with his fingers, grinning in pride. "Three, two, one!"

Lucy smiled. She strummed a couple of chords and began to sing of a happily ever after she once believed she would never get.

 **When it gets dark we're falling far tonight**  
 **Under the moonlight chasing fireflies**  
 **If I'd ask you, "do you think you want to?"**  
 **Just say yes without feeling like you got to**  
 **It's the way that you looked at me**  
 **That night**

 **When the butterflies**  
 **They came to life**  
 **By your side**

 **So won't you pull me closer, kiss me faster**  
 **Take me to your happily ever after**  
 **Boy don't make me wait forever**  
 **Oh-oh**  
 **You know we'd be so much better**  
 **If we could fall in love together**  
 **Pull me closer, kiss me faster**  
 **Take me to your happily ever after**

 **You lift me up take my feet off the ground**  
 **With just one look it's like you've got me now**  
 **Left me speechless, didn't know I'd feel this**  
 **Just say yes, boy you know that we could do this**  
 **I'm the one you've been dreaming of**  
 **And that's why**

 **The butterflies**  
 **They come to life**  
 **Every time**

 **So won't you pull me closer, kiss me faster**  
 **Take me to your happily ever after**  
 **Boy don't make me wait forever**  
 **Oh-oh**  
 **You know we'd be so much better**  
 **If we could fall in love together**  
 **Pull me closer, kiss me faster**  
 **Take me to your happily ever after**

 **It's in the sound of your voice**  
 **You've got me caught up in your eyes**  
 **And under all the stars**  
 **Can you feel the butterflies?**  
 **And even at the summer's end**  
 **You left with all your promises**  
 **I still remember when you said**  
 **We could make it last**

Lucy's voice soared, and she knew she had the song nailed.

 **So won't you pull me closer, kiss me faster**  
 **Take me to your happily ever after**  
 **Boy don't make me wait forever**  
 **Oh-oh**  
 **You know we'd be so much better**  
 **If we could fall in love together**  
 **Pull me closer, kiss me faster**  
 **Take me to your happily ever after**

 **So won't you pull me closer, kiss me faster**  
 **Take me to your happily ever after**  
 **Boy don't make me wait forever**  
 **Oh-oh**  
 **You know we'd be so much better**  
 **If we could fall in love together**  
 **Pull me closer, kiss me faster**  
 **Take me to your happily ever after**

With one last chord, Lucy giggled and grinned triumphantly at the camera. "Lucy Heartfilia, _Closer, Faster_."

After Virgo ended the video, all her servants began whooping and hollering just as triumphantly as Lucy felt.

"You nailed it, ebi!"

"So mooooooving, mooshi mooshi!"

"Wonderful, Hime. Punishement time?"

"Not bad, for a little brat."

"Congratulations! I'm so sorry!"

Lucy just giggled. Her servants had so many odd quirks, but that was part of why she loved them so much.

"Time for the other instruments?" Lucy asked. Virgo nodded as Taurus wheeled her drum set into the empty room. She was _sooo_ going to get into Fairy Tail Musical Academy!

* * *

After an exhausting but satisfying day of filming, Lucy began the grueling work of filling out her application.

"Well, at least the video's done," Lucy commented to herself, as she flopped down onto her bed and pulled out her laptop. After logging on, she pulled up the Fairy Tail Musical Academy website. A friendly home screen filled the page, full of information, important dates, and smiling faces. There was even a song of the day, written and performed by a student. Curious, Lucy clicked the video and an audio clip began playing. Though not the best quality video, she could tell that the voice was simply beautiful, filled with emotion as the teenage girl sang a hopeless love song.

Lucy clicked the link that read "Application". Eying the form, Lucy let out a relieved breath. Despite how prestigious the Academy was, not much information was required to apply. The page read:

First Name:

Last Name:

Birthdate:

Grade Going Into:

Check what applies: Vocals, Piano, Guitar (specify), Drums, Bass, Other

Notes:

Lucy filled out the page, and stared at the box for additional notes. She knew she didn't want anyone to know she was Jude and Layla Hearfilia's daughter, and so began to fill out the box. Once it was filled out, Lucy read what she had typed.

"If I am given the opportunity to attend Fairy Tail Musical Academy, I would like to keep my true identity a secret. Therefore, I would like to request permission to go by Ashley Davis instead of Lucy Hearfilia. Thank you for your time."

Ashley Davis. It wasn't a bad name. If anything, Lucy thought it kind of suited her. So why not? Lucy, no, Ashley, pressed the button to submit her application and braced herself for what might come next.


	2. Chapter 2: Second Chance

**(A/N) I do not own Fairy Tail (however much I wish I did)**

 **Hey guys! Thanks so much to _all those who followed or favorited_ , and a special thanks to theAthenien for letting me bug her about high school schedules. Also, thanks to Kawai Turtles for being my first reviewer for this story! All of you guys are the best! I'm writing because of you :D**

 **Watch out, this chapters a long one, but in my opinion a lot happens that I wanted to make sure to have in one chapter. Apologies if it seems rushed!**

 **The song used in this chapter is called** _ **Second Chance,**_ **by Shinedown. I love this song so much, and knew I had to make sure to include it somewhere. The link to the lyric video on Youtube is** **watch?v=0SgjcNwwHwM**

* * *

Promptly after Lucy submitted her application to Fairy Tail Musical Academy, she was sent an email notifying her that it had been received.

"Yes!" she shouted with glee. Finally, she was fulfilling her dream of starting her own life, away from her father. Now, all that was left to do was to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

The day Jude Heartfilia came back home from his business meeting in Hargeon, he didn't acknowledge Lucy at all. Though that was normal behavior from him, it still stung particularly bad due to how badly Lucy wanted him to notice her accomplishment.

Even though he would hate it.

He would hate it because if would remind him of Layla, and that was the opposite of what Lucy wanted. Despite how much she hated her father, he was still her father, and she didn't want him to go through that pain. Especially since he took that pain out on her.

And so Lucy waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

All the while, she wrote new songs. She spent the days locked in her room and sitting at her desk, writing on paper, typing on her laptop, or sketching notes and chords on sheet paper.

That was until finally, the day when she got an email back from Fairy Tail Musical Academy came.

It started out as a normal day. Lucy woke up early, took a shower, got dressed, and headed downstairs for breakfast, just as she had been doing for the past five years of her life.

"Good morning Aquarius!" Lucy greeted her friend.

Aquarius just grumbled. "Breakfast's ready."

"Thanks!" Lucy responded cheerfully.

"Hey, you leaving soon?" Aquarius questioned impatiently.

"I'm not sure yet. The emails haven't come yet. I was planning on checking later today though- the results of who made it were supposed to be posted online sometime this week!" It might have just been Lucy's overactive imagination, but for a second she could have sworn that she saw a glimpse of a smile grace Aquarius's face.

 _Beep!_

From her back pocket, Lucy's phone beeped loudly. Gasping excitedly, she scrambled to check her email. The screen read " **One unread message: Fairy Tail Musical Academy".** Lucy nervously grinned up at Aquarius while crossing her fingers. Skimming the message, she stumbled across the bit of information she had been waiting for.

 _Dear Lucy Heartfilia,_

 _Thanks you for the time you have taken to apply to Fairy Tail Musical Academy. We applaud your choice, and wish you luck in your next year of high school. **Congratulations, you have been accepted into Fairy Tail Musical Academy!**_

 _You are among 9 out of 451 applicants to be accepted this year into the Junior class. Be proud of your accomplishment, and spend your time at Fairy Tail Musical Academy wisely._

 _We hope you are well informed of what Fairy Tail Musical Academy entails. Along with regular classes including Math and Science, you will be expected to attend musical classes, mandatory ones being History of Music for Juniors, Songwriting for Juniors, and two basic instrumental courses. During those two periods, you are able to practice whatever instrument you so choose. Vocal lessons are also given if requested previously._

 _Your individual schedule is as follows._

 _Homeroom (7:40-7:50) - Dr. Austin - A201_

 _Period 1 (7:50-8:39) - Trigonometry - Dr. Austin - A206_

 _Period 2 (8:39-9:28) - Vocal Instruction - Ms. Reimers - C111_

 _Period 3 (9:28-10:17) - Instrument - Staff - B103_

 _Period 4 (10:17-11:06) - The Basics of Lyric and Instrumental Writing for Juniors - Dr. Ruch - A204_

 _Period 5 (11:06-11:55) - Science - Mrs. Blanchard - A106_

 _Period 6 (11:55-12:25) - Lunch - Staff - Cafeteria_

 _Period 7 (12:25-1:14) - History of Music for Juniors - Mrs. Crowley - A107_

 _Period 8 (11:14-2:03) - Instrument - Staff - B103_

 _Study Hall (2:03-2:31) - Staff - A201_

 _Organize (2:31-2:36) - Dr. Austin - A201_

 _Classes where Staff is listed as the instructor are either classes with no instructor or classes where any teacher is able to instruct during that time._

 _If you have any questions or complaints regarding your schedule, please visit Mr. Clive in the School Office._

 _Your Junior year begins on September 1, so please be prepared for your classes by that time. Any materials needed will be provided for you._

 _Congratulations!_

 _With the best of luck,_

 _Principal Mavis Vermilion_

 _Vice Principal Makarov Dreyar_

"Yes!" Lucy screamed. "I made it! I made it!"

* * *

After a lot of rejoicing from Lucy and her servants, an escape plan for Lucy was made. Since her father would never allow Lucy to attend a public high school with his willing consent, she would have to be sneaked out of the estate, and as soon as possible. Seeing as Jude didn't even interact with Lucy on a monthly basis, he most likely would not notice her disappearance until a couple months into the semester.

Later that day, Lucy rented an apartment in Magnolia, right by Fairy Tail Musical Academy. Dorms were offered, but required a parent signature. Online, she was able to rent her individual apartment in advance for the entire school year.

It was decided that Lucy would pack her bags, and leave in the evening that same day. Her alibi would be a dress fitting, but Virgo would really drive Lucy to the nearest train station. There, Lucy would board the train to Magnolia. Plans in mind, Lucy headed upstairs to her room to pack.

"What to bring..." Lucy muttered to herself. She only owned a couple pairs of "normal" clothes. Everything else she had to wear consisted of frilly dresses and lacy things. Those were out of the question.

Lucy set aside her normal garb, toiletries, binder of self composed songs, and favorite books. She shoved them all into one suitcase, and was relieved to see that it all fit. However...

"How am I going to bring my instruments!?" Lucy shouted, horrified. There was no way she could bring all of them, so she was forced to choose. Her keyboard wouldn't fit, the bass was not even an option, and her clarinet, flute, and violin didn't seem necessary enough to bring. Her electric guitar had too many wires attached, so she was left with only one choice: her acoustic guitar.

The guitar fit perfectly into the suitcase. Lucy pulled the zipper , and with one long resolute _ziiiiip,_ she had thrown away her old life and was ready for something new.

* * *

"Hime," Virgo said as she entered Lucy's room later that evening. "Your father has been informed that you shall be attending a dress fitting this evening. Are you prepared to leave for the train station, or is it punishment time?"

"No Virgo, I'm ready. I really am." Lucy grinned nervously as she wheeled her suitcase out the door.

They made they're way outside carefully, so as not to disturb Jude. Once outside, Virgo pulled up a long, black car for Lucy. Her servants all gathered and bade their tearful goodbyes, and soon enough, Lucy was off.

The ride to the train station was a short one. There, people bustled all over the place, some cheerful, some grumpy. It was a whirlwind of chaos, and the moment Lucy walked onto her train she knew she loved it. Though she would miss her servants, her only friends, she was also ready to find her own for a change. With that in mind, Lucy began to write out the lyrics and notes to a new song, titled _Second Chance_.

The ride to Magnolia took about four hours, which was just enough time for Lucy to finish composing her song in full. It was the middle of the night by the time the train halted, but Lucy didn't mind.

"Have a nice night, sir!" she greeted the ticket officer at the train station, who smiled wearily back at her along with the few other passengers.

"Now to find Strawberry Street!" Lucy grinned and ventured off into the night, city map clasped firmly in her hand. After what seemed like forever, she managed to locate her new apartment.

The lady who handed her her room key didn't look very happy after Lucy woke her up for it, but consented after a few minutes of Lucy chatting amiably towards her. Lucy just smiled, and practically skipped up the stairs to her apartment. Down a short hallway, a peeling wooden door greeted Lucy. The lock consented to the key, and with a long creak, the door opened.

There was only one thing Lucy could see when she first viewed her apartment.

"Yes! A balcony!" the excited individual cheered. Though the room was small, it was cozy and had everything Lucy would need to be fully independent, including a balcony. With sudden inspiration, Lucy grabbed her acoustic guitar and the song she had just written, and headed outside on her balcony. From there, she could see the sun peeking slightly over the horizon, and the train tracks she had just ridden on disappear into the distant mountains. Lucy balanced her music on the railing and began to sing.

 **My eyes are open wide**  
 **By the way,**  
 **I made it through the day**  
 **I watched the world outside**  
 **By the way,**  
 **I'm leaving out today**

 **I just saw Halley's comet**  
 **She waved**  
 **Said, "Why you always running in place?"**  
 **Even the man in the moon disappeared**  
 **Somewhere in the stratosphere**

Lucy closed her eyes and sang from the bottom of her heart.

 **Tell my mother,**  
 **Tell my father**  
 **I've done the best I can**  
 **To make them realize**  
 **This is my life**  
 **I hope they understand**  
 **I'm not angry, I'm just saying...**  
 **Sometimes goodbye is a second chance**

 **Please don't cry one tear for me**  
 **I'm not afraid**  
 **Of what I have to say**  
 **This is my one and only voice**  
 **So listen close,**  
 **It's only for today**

 **I just saw Halley's comet**  
 **She waved**  
 **Said, "Why you always running in place?"**  
 **Even the man in the moon disappeared**  
 **Somewhere in the stratosphere**

 **Tell my mother,**  
 **Tell my father**  
 **I've done the best I can**  
 **To make them realize**  
 **This is my life**  
 **I hope they understand**  
 **I'm not angry, I'm just saying...**  
 **Sometimes goodbye is a second chance**

 **Here is my chance**  
 **This is my chance**

Lucy's voice rose as she sang the climax of the song. Nothing else could be heard except her powerful and soulful voice.

 **Tell my mother,**  
 **Tell my father**  
 **I've done the best I can**  
 **To make them realize**  
 **This is my life**  
 **I hope they understand**  
 **I'm not angry, I'm just saying...**  
 **Sometimes goodbye is a second chance**

 **Sometimes goodbye is a second chance**

On the last line of the song, a second voice joined in.

 _ **Sometimes goodbye is a second chance**_

Lucy opened her eyes, once again awake to the world. Only she didn't see what she expected to see.

"Who are you!?" Lucy screamed at the strange, pink haired teenage male who was currently sitting on her balcony railing with a cocky grin. "How... how'd you get here?" she asked, more calmly.

"I climbed, duh," the stranger stated simply. "You've got a real voice on you, better than I've ever heard."

"Th-thanks," Lucy replied, eyeing the boy. "Now, who are-"

"You go to Fairy Tail?" the stranger asked. "I've never seen you there before, though."

"I just applied this month. I'll be in my Junior year." Lucy was surprisingly calmer now, knowing she was talking to another student. However, the matter of the fact that he had climbed up onto her balcony and started to sing with her had not yet been discussed.

"You'll fit in great! With a voice like yours, who wouldn't?" The pink haired man peered into her apartment and gleamed her unpacked suitcase. "I guess you just moved in?"

"Like five minutes ago, yeah. I'm L- Ashley. Ashley Davis," Lucy said quickly, for a second forgetting her new name.

"And I'm Natsu! Natsu Dragneel!" With a toothy grin, Natsu stuck out his hand. As soon as Lucy held out hers, he shook it so hard Lucy feared that it would fall off. "I'm in my Junior year too!"

Lucy grinned, glad to have already met somebody her own age. "So..." she began. "What are you doing up and about at three in the morning?"

Natsu scowled. "The stupid ice freak was having girl problems. Some girl he met in a bar was too clingy, and Gray's not good with touch feely stuff."

"Gray... does he go to Fairy Tail Musical Academy?" Lucy asked timidly.

"Just call it Fairy Tail. And yeah, he's a junior, an ice princess, and plays the bass. I play guitar!" Natsu exclaimed excitedly, stealing the guitar from Lucy's grasp and playing a few chords. "My friend Erza plays the drums! I think your song would sound better with drums. And an electric guitar, not acoustic. But whatever. That's your choice."

Lucy smiled, deciding that she liked the strange boy who had climbed onto her balcony. "Yeah, it would. But I was only able to bring my acoustic, so..."

"Hey! Here's an idea!" Natsu danced around the balcony while playing random chords on Lucy's guitar. "You come over to my place tomorrow, and I bring Gray and Erza to record your song with us!" Lucy blinked. Go over to a strange man's house just as soon as she moved into town, along with a bunch of other complete strangers... sure. Why not?

Natsu seemed friendly enough, and she could use all the help and friendliness she could get.

"Sure! That sounds perfect!" Lucy answered. Natsu whooped in celebration and quickly wrote down a time and address on the back of Lucy's sheet music with a spare pen he found in his pocket.

"See ya later, Ash!" Natsu hollered, leaping over the balcony and then running down the street, waving a hand over his head as the sun began to rise. Lucy watched him run as she took in what had just happened.

"Hmm..." she contemplated. "Well, I guess I'll see what happens tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3: The First Meeting

The next morning, Lucy awoke to soft sunshine filtering in through her blinds, and the sweet smell of freedom.

Sitting up in bed slowly and rubbing her eyes, Lucy remembered the events of last night. "Natsu..." she murmured.

After quickly showering and getting dressed, Lucy grabbed her song binder and guitar and headed off to find a coffee shop.

"Good morning!" she greeted her land lady as she exited the building. The land lady just grumbled under her breath.

"You again."

Lucy just smiled. Nothing could ruin her good mood

Absolutely _nothing_.

Due to a lifelong habit of hers, Lucy began a list of good things that had happened to her in her head.

This habit had started soon after her mother died, and when Lucy needed all the happy things she could get. Even though she currently felt as if she couldn't be happier, she created the list anyway.

"Number one," Lucy counted as she walked down the edge of the man-made canal outside her apartment with her arms outstretched. "Jude probably doesn't even know I'm gone." And he most likely didn't. "Number two. I'm gone. I'm on my own now."

 _I'm on my own now._ Those words of doubt echoed through Lucy's mind. Sure, she had freedom, but what if something bad happened and there was no one there to help her? "Number three. Strangers who climb my balcony." That was when Lucy realized that she wasn't truly alone. She would make friends at Fairy Tail, Musical Academy, no, just Fairy Tail, and she had already made one friend. In fact, she was going to meet two more people later that day.

"Right. Gray and... Erza? Number four, I guess." Though strangers, Lucy had a feeling they would be friendly. Maybe a little too friendly though, if they were anything like Natsu.

"Number five... coffee shops!" Right in front of Lucy was the most cheerful little shop she had seen. It was small and cozy, and the outside of the building had been painted a sunny yellow. Clear glass windows sparkled in the sunlight, showing off the dark wood tables and cherry red seats inside. A counter in the back of the shop was being cleaned off my a teenager with shining silver hair, and customers mingled everywhere. Lucy entered and breathed in deep. The air smelled of fresh coffee grounds and delicious baked goods.

Lucy sat down and was soon greeted by a girl about her age, with short, boyish, silver hair and bright blue eyes. "Hi! I'm Lisanna! What can I get for you?"

"Oh, hi!" Lucy greeted back. "Can I have... one grande pumpkin spice latte and a strawberry scone?"

"Of course!" Lisanna jotted the order down on her notepad and bustled back to the counter, where the other teenager with long silver hair was now quickly preparing orders.

In just a few minutes, the shop began to clear out and Lisanna came back with Lucy's order. "Here 'ya go!" she smiled.

"Thanks!" Lucy exclaimed appreciatively. She breathed in the spicy scent of her latte. "It smells delicious!"

"Compliments to the chef!" Lisanna shouted to the girl who had made the coffee and most likely the scone as well.

"Thanks, sweetie!" she shouted back, waving at Lucy and Lisanna.

"That's my sister, Mirajane," Lisanna explained. "She, my brother Elfman and I run this shop."

"All alone?" queried Lucy. Lisanna's bright face saddened slightly.

"Our parents passed away a while back," she explained. Before Lucy could respond with her regrets, Lisanna said, "But it's ok. We get by." Gesturing towards the seat, she asked, "May I sit down?"

"Sure!" Lucy agreed, surprised by how friendly everyone she had met was.

"You look about my age. Do you go to Fairy Tail?" Lisanna asked. "Nice guitar, by the way."

"Yeah. Well, at least I'm going to. I'll be going in as Junior, because I only just applied and got in recently. I moved into my apartment last night, actually."

Lisanna whistled. "You must be pretty talented then. Barely anyone gets into Fairy Tail without starting as in ninth grade." Then, with realization, her face brightened. "Oh! I'm going into my Junior year too!"

"Great! Not even my first day and I already know two people!" Lucy was ecstatic at this information, because it took of a lot of pressure to make friends immediately on he first day.

"Who else do you know?"

"Natsu?" Lucy phrased it as a question, because she wasn't sure if him climbing onto her balcony in the middle of the night counted as 'knowing' a person.

"Natsu?! How on earth do you know Natsu? He's never left Magnolia!" As a side note, Lisanna whispered behind her hand. " _Major_ motion sickness."

"Ooh. Yikes. And I actually only just met him last night..." Lucy went on to explain how she made the pink haired boy, and had Lisanna belly laughing within seconds.

"He climbed onto your _balcony?_ And started to _sing_ with you?" Lisanna's mouth was open, and she was shaking with laughter, but she seemed to believe Lucy.

"Yep! I'm supposed to go over to this address later, he wanted to record my song with other instruments. I think..." Lucy trailed off as she showed Lisanna the address.

"So _that's_ why!" she shouted. "He texted me earlier, and told me to be at his place at noon with my keyboard." Grinning, she grabbed Lucy's hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, mysterious new girl whom I'll officially meet later." Lucy giggled, realizing that she liked Lisanna.

"Likewise. I'm Ashley, by the way." They both collapsed into giggles, and then Lucy asked what had been on her mind. "How do you know Natsu?"

"Oh, I've known him since kindergarten. And if you were wondering, his hair color's natural."

"Seriously! I thought it was just a trick of light at first!"

The pair giggled some more, and got to talking about some of their favorite bands and songs. Lisanna told Lucy all about the Junior year teachers, who was strict, who was nice, and who's class you could virtually get away with eating ice cream with a knife for a spoon. After almost forty five minutes of bonding, the two girls were broken apart by Mirajane, as more people began to pour into the shop.

"See you soon, Ashley!" Lisanna waved at Lucy as she excited the coffee shop, grinning like a madwomen but not caring in the slightest. It was ten thirty, and Lucy had another hour until she had to try to find the address Natsu had given her. Wandering around town, Lucy found a music shop. There, she beholded in the sight of shiny new instruments, testing each and every one. All too soon, it was time for Lucy to find the address.

It took Lucy a bit longer than expected to find the place, due to the fact that it wasn't really in a neighborhood. It was settled in the very outskirts of a neighborhood pretty close to where Lucy lived on Strawberry Street, about twenty walking minutes away.

"Ahh! Finally!" Lucy's arms ached from carrying her guitar. And, in addition to the guitar, Lucy had also lugged her binder full of self composed songs around with her all morning. Since she had been writing nonstop since around age eleven, the binder was _heavy_. Heavy, and also overflowing.

Natsu's house had a welcoming feeling to it. Made of varying shades of worn red brick, the house was surrounded by untamed wildflowers and adorned with crisp white shutters.

"Here I go," Lucy declared resolutely. "Time to be Ashley."

Before Lucy-Ashley could even knock on the door, it opened to reveal a tall, buff man with reddish, almost pinkish, hair. "Natsu!" he bellowed. "Your new lady friend's here!" He winked at Lucy and held out his hand. "Igneel Dragneel. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"I'm Ashly Davis. It's nice to meet you too!" Lucy smiled nervously at Natsu's father, again blown away by how friendly he was. Nothing at all like her father. With one grin, Igneel had proven himself to contain the warmth Lucy had so desired after her mom died.

"I didn't believe Natsu when he said he had a girlfriend, but you're definitely proof enough!" Before Lucy could protest, Natsu popped out from behind a door.

"She's not my girlfriend, dad!" he retorted in retribution. "Come on, Ash!" Natsu said gleefully as he grabbed her hand and dragged Lucy down a set of stairs, and brought her into a huge basement.

"Woah," Lucy gushed in amazement. "This is _epic_."

The room truly was epic. The whole basement was a room that encompassed the entire house, except there were no walls, just one huge expanse. Greenscreens lined three out of four walls, and sheet music, hastily written lyrics, and a plethora of musical instruments laid _everywhere_. It was a mess, but an awesome one.

Running over to a keyboard strewn on the floor on top of a whole bunch of paper, Lucy quickly played a few chords and sighed in pleasure. "I haven't played the piano in a whole _day_."

"You've really suffered, haven't you?" Natsu joked. "So when did 'ya move in?"

"Last night, actually. I had literally just dropped my bags on the floor and went outside to try my new song when you came." Natsu rubbed his neck sheepishly.

"Sorry if I startled you at all. It was just a really good song, and I wanted to meet the person who wrote it!" Wow, Natsu seemed to be enthusiastic about _everything_.

Lucy blushed slightly at the comment. "Thanks. I wrote it on the train on the way here." With that said, the pink haired boy doubled over, clutching his stomach with one hand and his mouth with the other. His face began to take on a greenish tinge.

"Don't... ever mention transportation around me. _Ever_ " he declared, face slowly turning green. Right. Natsu had motion sickness.

"Right... Lisanna told me about that." As soon as the motion sickness on Natsu's face faded, confusion replaced it.

"How do you know Lisanna?" The blonde said nothing.

"That's for us to know and for you to never find out!" The white haired girl herself strutted down the basement stairs, smirking as if she had a secret. Which she did.

"Not fair..." Natsu groaned. "I want in on the secret. Did you guys meet when Lis was "traveling abroad"?"

The two accused shared a grin. "We don't know," they said in union. Suddenly, a fearsome looking girl with long, scarlet hair and a pair of drumsticks in her back pocket entered the basement and immediately slapped Natsu in the back of the head.

"You idiot!" she roared. "You don't climb onto strangers' balconies in the middle of the night! What have I taught you about manners, and public decency?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"If anything, you should have learned not to do what you did last night. Understood?" The ferocious teen drilled, while the terrified Natsu nodded his head as quickly as humanly possible.

"Sorry Erza. Sorry Ash." Lucy smiled at her nickname, and then realized that Erza was the drummer.

In short, Lucy was terrified.

"I apologize for my friend's behavior," Erza began, speaking to Lucy. "I am Erza, and it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh! I'm Ashley, nice to meet you too!" Lucy stuck out her hand, but Erza ignored it and brought her into a hug instead. Yet again, Lucy was amazed by how welcoming and accepting these people from Fairy Tail were.

Once Erza let go of Lucy, Lisanna spoke up with a very important question. "So Ashley, when can we see the song you wrote?" Lucy ruffled through her binder, and retrieved several slightly crumpled pieces of paper.

"This has the lyrics and the acoustic guitar part. The electric guitar would be different, drums are needed, and bass and piano parts would be nice, but I haven't written anything for those yet. I only just wrote the song yesterday on the train here."

As Lucy was beginning to explain the parts, a strange boy with dark hair and hands in his pockets stalked in. "I can't believe you started without me, flame-brain." Then he smirked. "Well, it _is_ you." Noticing, Lucy, he held up a hand at hear and said, "I'm Gray. On bass." He acted nonchalant as he made his way over to examine Lucy's writing.

"I'm Ashley. Nice to meet you." Though Gray wasn't as touch feely as Natsu, Lisanna, and even Erza were, he still seemed nice enough. Lucy continued to explain the song, and soon they were hooking up wires and adjusting everyone's sound. The five teens worked well together, and with the exception of Natsu and Gray's strange obsession with fighting constantly, Lucy found that this group was growing on her. Erza with her stern discipline but kind manner, Lisanna's cheerfulness and positivity, Gray's nonchalant way of acting brotherly, and of course, Natsu's sporadic childish manner.

Soon enough, Lucy stood with a mic in her hand, in front of a green screen. Lisanna and Gray flanked her right, while Natsu and Erza flanked her left. Igneel had just joined them, so start the cameras staged at multiple angles. Igneel pressed the button to roll the cameras, and gave them a thumbs up while flashing grin. Gray strummed his bass, and Natsu joined, creating chords that reverberated throughout the room. Lisanna started to play her keyboard, and finally, Lucy opened her mouth nervously and began to sing.

 **My eyes are open wide**  
 **And by the way,**  
 **I made it through the day**

Erza joined in as Gray Lisanna and her tried to contain their amazement at how fantastic of a voice Lucy possessed.

 **I watched the world outside**  
 **By the way,**  
 **I'm leaving out today**

 **I just saw Halley's comet**  
 **Shooting**  
 **Said, "Why you always running in place?"**  
 **Even the man in the moon disappeared**  
 **Somewhere in the stratosphere**

The song's intensity increased as they reached the first chorus.

 **Tell my mother,**  
 **Tell my father**  
 **I've done the best I can**  
 **To make them realize**  
 **This is my life**  
 **I hope they understand**  
 **I'm not angry, I'm just saying...**  
 **Sometimes goodbye is a second chance**

 **Please don't cry one tear for me**

Natsu joined in with unplanned background vocals.

 **I'm not afraid**  
 **Of what I have to say**  
 **This is my one and only voice**  
 **So listen close,**  
 **It's only for today**

 **I just saw Halley's comet**  
 **Shooting**  
 **Said, "Why you always running in place?"**  
 **Even the man in the moon disappeared**  
 **Somewhere in the stratosphere**

Lucy belted as she sang from her heart.

 **Tell my mother,**  
 **Tell my father**  
 **I've done the best I can**  
 **To make them realize**  
 **This is my life**  
 **I hope they understand**  
 **I'm not angry, I'm just saying...**  
 **Sometimes goodbye is a second chance**

 **Here is my chance**  
 **This is my chance**

For a moment, just Erza's drums remained.

 **Tell my mother,**  
 **Tell my father**  
 **I've done the best I can**  
 **To make them realize**  
 **This is my life**  
 **I hope they understand**  
 **I'm not angry, I'm just saying...**  
 **Sometimes goodbye is a second chance**

 **Sometimes goodbye is a second chance**

Lucy sang the last line alone, ending the song with her voice filled with passion and hopefulness.

 **Sometimes goodbye is a second chance.**

Igneel shut off the camera's as the teens stood in place, amazed at themselves and their first accomplishment. "You've got some real talent there, Ashley," he commented to the panting girl. "Good luck!" he shouted over his shoulder as Igneel proceeded upstairs.

"You know what," Natsu finally said. "We should make a band."

* * *

 **(A/N) I don't own Fairy Tail (though if I did Natsu and Zeref would totally hug it out and then defeat Acnologia using nakama/bro power)**

 **Hey! I'm doing the Author's note at the end of the chapter this time, just because I didn't see why not.**

 **THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MY FOLLOWERS, FAVORITERS, AND REVIEWERS. YOU ARE ALL AMAZINGLY FANTASTERRIFIC PEOPLE AND I COULDN'T BE MORE GRATEFUL!**

 **This is basically my first real multi-chapter fic (the first one I enjoy writing and have ideas for) and I'm amazed that I'm already halfway to my goal of 20 followers and 13 favorites! Reviews are just the icing on the cake, and very much appreciated!**

 **One note on this chapter: Team Natsu unites yet again! And Lisanna, 'cause I love her character and needed a pianist. Just so you know, Lisanna will not be an antagonist in this fic. I know a lot of the time people do that because it does make a good story line, but I just love her too much to make her a villain and go down that path.**

 **Though I'm not saying I don't enjoy fics with Lisanna as a villain. I've read quite a few XDXDXD**

 **I had so many things I wanted to include in the chapter, but didn't want to go over 3000 words, which I would have it I had included the rest of the afternoon. However, expect another chapter very soon. Ideas and inspiration are fresh on my mind, and only growing :D**

 **Also, on a side note, I will probably be updating sporadically later on. Right now, I have lots of inspiration and have updated every two days, I believe. Later on though, I'm scared that my ideas will dwindle and I'll end up updating a heck of a lot slower. But that won't happen for another five chapters ;D**

 **Thanks so much for reading!**

 **~Cierra**


	4. Chapter 4: The Ashes

**(A/N) I don't own Fairy Tail. If I did, chapter 465 of the manga would be out by now, and I would wouldn't be in "AGONY!" (Sorry, reference XD)**

 **Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter! I'm so lucky to have you guys!**

 **If you ever want me to include a song, just leave a review or PM explaining why I should use it, and I'll make sure to add it if I can fit it in. I should be able to, just as long as you give me a good reason.**

 **Chapter note: Songs, as you should know, are in bold. From here on out, anytime when two or more people are singing, those lyrics will be bolded and italicized. Also, the only reason this chapter is this big is because I believe I have five songs. Yeah, way to many, but I needed to include them all in one chapter. There shouldn't normally be that many, and I promise that next time, I will have actual events happen besides just singing.**

 **Songs included, in order, are _Buy the Stars,_ by Marina and the Diamonds, _Leave the Pieces, by The Wreckers,_ _Fix My Eyes,_ by for KING & COUNTRY, _Try_ , by P!nk** **, and finally _Young Volcanoes,_ by Fall Out Boy. The links, in order, are as follows. **

**watch?v=lKboiM0VS0c**

watch?v=vuCqIH9-t2I

watch?v=NM-Bf9gE0gw

watch?v=pPtlSF4TlJE

 **watch?v=B-XUjmkrSe8**

 **Thanks, and enjoy!**

"..."

"..."

"... For once, Firebreath, that's not such a bad idea." Gray strummed his instrument and smirked.

"I agree. We shall have an epic band." Lucy and Lisanna just grinned and jumped up and down together. Natsu joined in, choking his guitar at random intervals.

"A band... we need a band for school, anyways. But if we start now, we could have an album out before that time even comes!" Lisanna was overjoyed at the thought, and excitement twinkled in her large, blue eyes. That was when Lucy remembered that in your Junior year at Fairy Tail Academy, the students formed bands. All the bands had to come up with five self composed songs to perform at an end of the year music festival, and awards were given to the best.

"We'll be the best band there is!" Natsu could already smell victory. "But first we need a name." Though Natsu didn't seem to be one to normally stay on task, he _had_ brought up a very important point. The band that had been formed less than a minute ago needed a name. "I vote for Team Natsu!"

"No."

"No."

No way."

"Um... maybe something else."

After half an hour of bickering, fighting, yelling, and stupid suggestions, Lucy, Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Lisanna still didn't have a name for their band. Finally, Erza gave up. "We'll figure out a name later," she said. "For now, can we see some of your other songs, Ashley?"

"Ooh! Let's see what we could use for an album!" Lisanna brought over Lucy's thick binder.

"There's a lot in here," Erza commented, pointing out the obvious. "How long have you been writing?"

Lucy thought for a second. "About since I was ten," she answered.

Mouths dropped.

"How... how were you not at Fairy Tail before now?" Gray queried.

"Haha, strict parents," Lucy replied quickly, eyes dropping. "My newest stuff is in the back, you don't want to see the earlier stuff."

"Ahh... at least one early piece. Please Ashley...!" Lisanna begged eagerly. Lucy sighed, and gave in.

"Just one." Lucy ruffled through the pages. Finding what she was looking for, she bit her lip and then held out several pieces of lined paper containing a piano instrumental and lyrics. "This one is called _Buy the Stars._ I wrote it back when I was twelve."

Lucy's friends read through the song. "It is truly beautiful, Ashley. You should be proud of this piece. It is remarkable what you could do at such a young age," Erza praised, tears in her eyes.

" _Boy, she gets emotional easily,"_ Lucy thought. "Oh, it was only four years ago."

"Sing it for us," Gray proposed, almost seeming curious.

"Yeah! I'll play the piano for you, Ashley!" Lisanna grinned and ran over to her keyboard with the sheet music.

"Can you do that? I mean, you just saw the piece and-"

"Oh, don't worry Ash. Lisanna here just got back from a tour with other pianists. They all had to know how to play pieces on the spot," Natsu reassured her.

"Umm..." Lucy said. She had written _Buy the Stars_ about her cruel father, and how he thought he knew her but never bothered to get to know her as a person. It was a rather symbolic and sad song, and Lucy wasn't sure she wanted to relive those memories by singing it again.

She didn't want to have to remember the only blood related family she had. The poor excuse of a father Jude had been.

But now she had friends. Natsu. Lisanna. Erza. Gray. She hadn't even know them for a whole day, but already, they treated her with more respect, kindness, and pure friendship than she had ever felt from anyone other than her servants for most of her life.

"Ok" Lucy headed over to Lisanna and her keyboard. Leaning in, she skimmed the lyrics and Lisanna began to play.

 **You bought a star in the sky tonight**  
 **Because your life is dark and it needs some light**  
 **You named it after me, but I'm not yours to keep**  
 **Because you'll never see, that the stars are free**

 **Oh we don't own our heavens now**  
 **We only own our hell**  
 **And if you don't know that by now**  
 **Then you don't know me that well**

 **All my life I've been so lonely**  
 **All in the name of being holy**  
 **Still, you'd like to think you know me**  
 **You keep buyin' stars**  
 **And you could buy up all of the stars,**  
 **But it wouldn't change who you are**  
 **You're still living life in the dark**  
 **It's just who you are**

Lucy closed her eyes and tried to avoid tearing up.

 **It's just who you are**

 **You bought a star in the sky tonight**  
 **And in your man-made dark**  
 **The light inside you died**

 **Oh we don't own our heavens now**  
 **We only own our hell**  
 **And if you don't know that by now**  
 **Then you don't know me that well**

 **All my life I've been so lonely**  
 **All in the name of being holy**  
 **Still, you'd like to think you own me**  
 **You keep buyin' stars**  
 **And you could buy up all of the stars,**  
 **But it wouldn't change who you are**  
 **You're still living life in the dark**  
 **It's just who you are**  
 **It's just who you are**

 **You know only how to own me**  
 **You know only how to own me**

 **You're buying stars to shut out the light**  
 **We come alone and alone we die**  
 **And no matter how hard you try**  
 **I'll always belong in the sky**

 **And you could buy up all of the stars,**  
 **But it wouldn't change who you are.**  
 **You're still living life in the dark**  
 **It's just who you are**  
 **It's just who you are**  
 **It's who you are**  
 **It's who you are**  
 **It's who you are**  
 **It's who you are**  
 **It's who you are**  
 **It's who you are**  
 **It's who you are**  
 **It's who you are**

When Lucy was finished, Lisanna, Erza, Natsu, and Gray began to clap. "Geez, Ash," Natsu began. "That was deep"

Lucy smiled nervously. "A lot of my early stuff is. But my more recent stuff is better."

"I can see how you got into Fairy Tail," said Erza.

"Oh yeah... you had to do an application video thing this year, didn't you?" Gray observed.

"Ooh! I know!" Luce exclaimed. "We should watch everyone's. I wanna see what you guys write, now that you've seen some of what I've done."

They all began to grumble.

"That was two years ago. We weren't very good," Natsu said sheepishly. "But if you show us your application video we'll-"

"No," Lucy interjected. "You've already seen some of mine. I want to hear some of all of yours." She crossed her arms sternly.

Once they realized there was no arguing with Lucy, Lisanna, Erza, Gray and Natsu gave in. "I'll go back to my house and grab my music," Lisanna offered. Erza quickly offered the same, as did Gray. Soon, Natsu and Lucy were the only ones left.

"So a band, huh." Lucy started.

"It'll be fun!" Natsu asserted eagerly. "We can play in all these competitions, festivals, and get graded for sounding good, which we already do!" Then he added, "We do have to have a band for school, anyways."

"How does that work?" Lucy asked. "Like, do you just form a band and that's that, or is there a hat with names and every several names drawn is a group, or does the principal form them, or-"

"Once people decide to form a band, they have to all sign up on this big white board," Natsu explained. "You put the band name up there, and names and signatures underneath. It someone doesn't like the band, or wants one of the people from that band in their band, they can write their interjection on the board, as long as it's within a week of when they first signed up. Then, a solution, normally a competition of sorts, will be decided and judged by the principal."

"Oh," remarked Lucy. "So if I disagreed with the members of a band, I could just complain and there would have to be a competition deciding the outcome."

"Yep!" Natsu confirmed. "But that doesn't happen much. Too much hassle."

The two chatted for a little bit, until Lisanna, Erza, and Gray came back, all bearing songs and sheet music for several instruments. Once settled in the basement again, and when the instruments were all arranged again, Lisanna offered to go first. "It's called _Leave the Pieces,_ and I wrote it when I was obsessed with country music." She smiled, embarrassed, but passed out the sheet music and stepped up to the mic.

 **You're not sure that you love me**  
 **But you're not sure enough to let me go**  
 **Baby it ain't fair you know**  
 **To just keep me hangin' 'round**

Lisanna's voice was raw and airy, but still heartfelt in a hopefully naive sort of way.

 **You say you don't wanna hurt me**  
 **Don't want to see my tears**  
 **So why are you still standing here**  
 **Just watching me drown**

On the chorus, Lucy joined in with perfectly harmonic background vocals.

 **And _it's alright, yeah I'll be fine_**  
 _ **Don't worry 'bout this heart of mine**_  
 ** _Just_ take your love and hit the road**  
 **There's _nothing you can do or say_**  
 _ **You're gonna break my heart anyway**_  
 _ **So just leave the pieces when you go**_

 **You can drag out the heartache**  
 **Baby you can make it quick**  
 **Really get it over with**  
 **And just let me move on**

 **Don't concern yourself**  
 _ **With this mess you've left for me**_  
 _ **I can clean it up, you see**_  
 _ **Just as long as you're gone**_

 _ **And it's alright, yeah I'll be fine**_  
 _ **Don't worry 'bout this heart of mine**_  
 ** _Just_ take your love and hit the road**  
 **There's _nothing you can do or say_**  
 _ **You're gonna break my heart anyway**_  
 _ **So just leave the pieces when you go**_

 **You not making up your mind**  
 **Its killing me and wasting time**  
 _ **I need so much more than that**_  
 _ **Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah**_

 _ **And it's alright, yeah I'll be fine**_  
 _ **Don't worry 'bout this heart of mine**_  
 **Just take your love and hit the road**  
 _ **There's nothing you can do or say**_  
 _ **You're gonna break my heart anyway**_  
 _ **So just leave the pieces when you go**_

 _ **Leave the pieces when you go**_  
 **Oh, yeah**  
 _ **Leave the pieces when you go**_  
 _ **yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah**_  
 _ **yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah**_  
 _ **Leave the pieces when you go**_

The song ended on a beautifully hopeful note, Lisanna's voice along with Lucy's fading out. "That was beautiful, Lisanna!" Lucy praised.

"Thank you so much! Gray, it's your turn now!"

Gray just mumbled and reluctantly passed out significantly crumpled pieces of paper. "You better not mess it up, Salamander," he threatened Natsu. The accused just skimmed the paper, and then widened his eyes.

"Oh, this one! Don't worry, I've got this." The pink haired teen adjusted his guitar as Gray raised the microphone. Lucy grabbed his bass, and quickly warmed up. Soon, they were ready.

Gray gave a thumbs up to Natsu, and the boys began clapping to a rhythm.

 _ **Oh oh oh**_

 _ **oh oh oh oh**_

 _ **oh oh oh oh**_

 _ **oh oh oh oh**_

 _ **oh oh oh oh**_

 _ **oh oh oh oh**_

 ** _oh oh oh oh oh oh oh_ **

Lucy, in short, was shocked at how well the two boys' voices blended, Gray's deeper, more serious notes mixed with Natsu's higher vocals.

 **Hit rewind, click delete**  
 **Stand face to face with the younger me**  
 **All of the mistakes**  
 **All of the heartbreak**  
 **Here's what I'd do differently, I'd**

 _ **Love like I'm not scared**_  
 _ **Give when it's not fair**_  
 _ **Live life for another**_  
 **Take time for a brother**  
 **Fight for the weak ones**  
 **Speak out for freedom**  
 **Find faith in the battle**  
 **Stand tall but above it all**

Natsu began to sing with Gray again.

 _ **Fix my eyes on You**_  
 _ **On You**_

 _ **I learned the lines and talked the talk**_  
 **(Everybody knows it, everybody knows it)**  
 _ **But the road less traveled is hard to walk**_  
 **(Everybody knows it, everybody knows)**  
 _ **It takes a soldier**_  
 _ **Who knows his orders**_  
 ** _To walk the walk I'm supposed to walk,_ and**

 _ **Love like I'm not scared**_  
 _ **Give when it's not fair**_  
 _ **Live life for another**_  
 **Take time for a brother**  
 **Fight for the weak ones**  
 **Speak out for freedom**  
 **Find faith in the battle**  
 **Stand tall but above it all**  
 _ **Fix my eyes on You**_  
 _ **On You**_

 **The _things of earth are dimming_**  
 **In the _light of Your glory and grace_**  
 **I'll _set my sights upon Heaven_**  
 _ **I'm fixing my eyes on You, on You**_  
 **I'm fixing my eyes on _You, on You_**  
 **I'm fixing my eyes**

 _ **Love like I'm not scared**_  
 _ **Give when it's not fair**_  
 _ **Live life for another**_  
 **Take time for a brother**  
 **Fight for the weak ones**  
 **Speak out for freedom**  
 **Find faith in the battle**  
 **Stand tall but above it all**  
 _ **Fix my eyes on You**_  
 _ **On You**_

 _ **I'll fix my eyes on you**_  
 _ **(On you)**_  
 _ **I'll fix my eyes on you**_  
 ** _(On you)_ **

"Wow," Lucy commented once the song was over. "I'm amazed that you two could actually do that together." Lisanna and Erza nodded.

"It really is amazing," Erza added. "But they're both actually pretty serious about their songs." Gray just grunted. "Erza," he began. "You're next."

Erza nodded and passed out her sheet music. "Erza, you sung this one at the tenth grade end of the year festival, didn't you?" Lisanna remembered. "You won something for it, didn't you?"

"Yes, "Best original Motivational Performance"," Erza confirmed. "Ashley, you're on drums now," she commanded. Once everyone was settled, Lisanna began to pluck out keys and soon began to sing.

 **Ever wonder about what she's doing**  
 **Or how it all turned to lies**  
 **Sometimes I think it might be better**  
 **To never ask why**

Her voice was throaty, and rich, filled with passion.

 **Cause where there is desire**  
 **There's gonna be a flame**  
 **And where there is a flame**  
 **Someone's bound to get burned**  
 **But just because it burns**  
 **Doesn't mean you're gonna die**  
 **You gotta get up and try, try, try, try**  
 **You gotta get up and try, try, try, try**  
 **You gotta get up and try, try, try, try**

 **It's funny how the heart can be deceiving**

Lisanna began to join in with slight harmony, weaving her voice with Erza's, once again amazing Lucy.

 _ **More than just a couple times**_  
 **Why do we fall in love so easy**  
 **Even when it's not right**

 **Cause where there is desire**  
 **There is gonna be a flame**  
 **And where there is a flame**  
 **Someone's bound to get burned**  
 **But just because it burns**  
 **Doesn't mean you're gonna die**  
 **You gotta get _up and try, try, try, try_**  
 **You gotta get up and try, try, try, try**  
 **You gotta get _up_ and try, try, try, try**

 **Ever worried that it might be ruined**  
 _ **And does it make you wanna cry**_  
 **When you're out there doing what you're doing**  
 _ **Are you just getting by**_  
 ** _Tell me are you just getting by_ **

**Cause _where there is desire_**  
 _ **There is gonna be a flame**_  
 _ **And where there is a flame**_  
 _ **Someone's bound to get burned**_  
 _ **But just because it burns**_  
 _ **Doesn't mean you're gonna die**_  
 _ **You gotta get up and try, try, try, try**_  
 _ **You gotta get up and try, try, try, try**_  
 _ **You gotta get up and try, try, try, try**_  
 _ **You gotta get up and try, try, try, try**_  
 ** _You gotta get up and_ try, try, try, try**

 **You gotta get up and try, try, try, try  
** **You gotta get up and try, try, try**

 **You gotta get up and try, try, try, try**

 **Gotta get up and try, try try**

Everyone clapped again. "I can see why you won that award," Lucy noted. Erza simply nodded, a proud smile on her lips. "Natsu," she ordered. "It's your turn." Natsu grinned and enthusiastically passed out papers.

"Prepare to be blown away Ash," he affirmed confidently. Lucy just raised her eyebrow, doubtful of Natsu's singing abilities, and began to strum her acoustic guitar.

 **When Rome's in ruins**  
 **We are the lions**  
 **Free of the coliseums**  
 **In poisoned places**  
 **We are anti-venom**  
 **We're the beginning of the end**

By that point, Lucy was amazed that she had ever doubted Natsu. She definitely preferred his voice over Gray's, though she knew she would never admit it.

 **Tonight**  
 **The foxes hunt the hounds**  
 **It's all over now**  
 **Before it has begun**  
 **And we've already won**

 ** _We are_ wild**  
 **We are like young volcanoes**  
 ** _We are_ wild**  
 **Americana exotica**  
 **Do you wanna feel a little beautiful baby? Yeah**

 **Come on make it easy**  
 **Say I never mattered**  
 **Run it up the flagpole**  
 **We will teach you**  
 **How to make**  
 **Boys next door**  
 **Out of assholes**

 **Tonight**  
 **The foxes hunt the hounds**  
 **It's all over now**  
 **Before it has begun**  
 **And we've already won**

 ** _We are_ wild**  
 **We are like young volcanoes**  
 ** _We are_ wild**  
 **Americana exotica**  
 **Do you wanna feel a little beautiful baby? Yeah**

 ** _We are_ wild**  
 **We are like young volcanoes**  
 ** _We are_ wild**  
 **Americana exotica**  
 **Do you wanna feel a little beautiful baby? Yeah**

When Natsu was done, he declared, "In your face Ash!" He cackled manically. "I _can_ sing!"

"I never said you couldn't," Lucy stated, rolling her eyes. Gray began to laugh at the display, and soon they were all laughing like a bunch of idiots. Soon enough, they were lying on the floor and singing old campfire tunes, though they would deny they had done that one.

Suddenly, Natsu sat up. "I've got it!" he bellowed. Lucy covered her ears quickly because of the noise.

"What, fire freak?" Gray asked.

"Our _name_ ," Natsu announced. "We should be _Th_ _e Ashes_!"

Lisanna squealed. "I love that!" she responded.

"I agree," said Erza.

Gray nodded. "Not bad."

They all looked at Ashley. "But... isn't that kind of my _name_? she pointed out.

"Well, obviously," Natsu answered.

"It's supposed to be!" supported Lisanna.

"You guys don't have to-"

"But we want to," Erza stated firmly. Gray nodded, and that was the end of it.

Lucy smiled slightly. "Ok," she said. " _The Ashes_ it is."


	5. Chapter 5: The Stellar

**(A/N) I don't own Fairy Tail. If I did I wouldn't need to write cheesy fanfiction to satisfy my feels T_T**

 **Hey guys! Wow, I'm updating soon. That's for two reasons: One, I wanted to take a brief hiatus (like four or five days) and write a couple chapters in advance so that I'll always have something to publish at least every three days. Two, it's been a whole week since I started this story! Wow! (I know, not much, but I really thought this story would be a bust) But now, where I one thought I'd have a grand total of about eight chapters, I think I might have more like twenty or twenty five! Seriously, I'm going on Chapter Five and Lucy's not even at Fairy Tail. Ughhhhhhh.**

 **So I'll probably update again on Friday. Or Saturday. Probably Friday.**

 **I also wanted to thank all of you for helping me reach my goal of 20 followers! You guys are amazing, and I can't believe it actually happened! I swear, I'm so happy I could cry. Instead, I'll just give you this chapter early :D**

 **Chapter Note: I think this is my favorite chapter so far! I'm got Nalu (spoiler alert) and a bookworm reunification. And SINGING! And, of course, this is my second longest chapter (3K) and there's only one song! I'm so proud, and I hope you enjoy!**

 **The song used in this chapter is _Gold_ by Britt Nicole. You know how in this fic, the characters wrote the song? Well, this time, Britt Nicole actually wrote the song. So keep that in mind when reading. The Youtube link is as follows. **

**watch?v=4u_TcXJIbcA**

 **Thanks, and I'll write you Friday!**

* * *

Since it was so late by the time _The Ashes_ were official, the newly formed band decided to spend the night at Natsu's. Igneel brought down tons of blankets and pillows to the basement and they ordered pizza. Between the two of them, Natsu and Gray ate almost two boxes, appalling Lucy. To Erza and Lisanna however, that habit was nothing new.

They stayed up extra late watching cheesy eighties' movies, along with Natsu's younger sister Wendy. She was a sweet little blue haired tween, who was surprisingly mature for her age. Lucy covered her ears at the inappropriate parts of the movies, but had a feeling Wendy had already heard it all. Wendy was an aspiring pianist and singer, and had already secured a spot at Fairy Tail Musical Academy when the time came.

Eventually, it came to time to go to bed. "Wendy," Natsu started blearily. "You should head up. I'm-" he stifled a yawn. "Actually tired, so you're probably beat." Wendy nodded and rubbed her eyes.

"Goodnight everyone!" she said softly, and padded upstairs. When everyone else realized that they would have to get up to go to bed, they all groaned.

"Can't we just stay like this?" Lucy moaned, exhausted. Currently, they were all laying belly down on the floor, positioned in front of a small TV.

"Nah, silly," Natsu yawned, stretching. "We have blankets right over here."

Slowly, and almost feeling her bones creaking, Lucy stood up and slowly made her way over to her pile of designated blankets. She flopped down, and immediately passed out, along with everyone else. However, her night was definitely not dreamless.

 _"Papa!" Lucy declared as she toddled into her father's office. It had only been a few weeks after her mother's death, and she had noticed how her father seemed sadder and more distant that usual. "I brought you something!" Her father said nothing. He just continued to shuffle papers, once in a while marking something down._

 _"It's a rice ball! I made it myself!" Lucy held out the misshaped ball that she had made with love. "You haven't been eating lunch lately, and I thought-" she stopped explaining when her father stood up. He glared at his only daughter, and stepped out from behind his desk._

 _"What have I told you," he began, eyes absent of life "About disturbing me when I am working."_

 _"I- I only thought-" begged Lucy, scared._

 _"You, if anyone, should understand how much pain I am in. You should know!" By that time, Lucy's father was screaming. He stood directly in front of Lucy, and towered over her. To the little girl, her father seemed to have turned into a monster._

 _He held up one hand, and Lucy trembled._

 _Slap!_

 _Lucy lay on the floor, eyes filled with tears and cheek smarting badly. The man she thought was her father was no longer the man she had learned to love. He truly was a monster. And he hated her._

"Don't... don't hurt me!" Lucy called out in her sleep. "I'm sorry! I... I just wanted to help..." Her face was twisted in pain. That was not the first time she had ever had nightmares, and they only ever got worse as each night went on.

"Don't!" Lucy wailed. By that time, her dreams had turned more violent. Tears ran down her sleeping face. "Don't hurt me!"

Natsu sat up blearily, only to hear his friend screaming. As everyone else stirred awake, Natsu bolted over to Lucy. "Ashley! Wake up! You have to-"

"No! Don't hurt me anymore!" Lucy screamed, batting out a hand and scratching Natsu's cheek with a long finger nail. Natsu didn't notice.

"Ash! Wake up!" He shook her vehemently, and Lucy's brown eyes popped open.

"Na... Natsu?" She felt her cheek. It was stained in tears. "I- I'm sorry for waking you." Then she noticed that everyone else was awake. "Oh. I'm so sorry guys, I-"

"Don't worry about it," Lisanna interjected. "As long as you're ok." Gray nodded, and Erza gave her a thumbs up before flopping back down and falling asleep. Natsu and Lucy were the only ones left awake.

Lucy stood up. "I'm going to go the bathroom real quick," she told Natsu. "Thanks. For waking me."

"Ash?" Natsu asked. "Does that happen often?" His face was filled with worry. Lucy sighed, and decided to be honest with him.

"Yes," she said softly. "Almost every night. But it's ok!" she covered quickly. "I'm used to it."

"Ash," started Natsu seriously. "No one should be used to waking up every night, screaming out "don't hurt me"."

Lucy just sighed. "Thanks Natsu, but it's fine. I feel a lot better now. I'm gonna go clean up now." She walked into the basement bathroom, and splashed water on her face. " _Should I tell him?"_ she thought. " _Not yet,"_ she finally decided.

She exited the bathroom, feeling a lot calmer and more composed. It was amazing what some cold water and time to think could do. Finally snuggling back into her blankets, she felt something that wasn't supposed to be there. Or should she say someone.

"Natsu," she complained. "I've gotta go to bed now."

"Uh huh," the accused said. "Goodnight Ash."

"... without you?"

"Ash," Natsu said. "I'm not leaving. If I do, you'll have another nightmare. Now go to bed, 'cause I'm staying."

Lucy sighed, too tired to think straight and longing for comfort. "Fine," she grunted, getting under the blankets. "Goodnight." And then she fell asleep with a smile on her lips and feeling safer than she ever had felt after her mother's death.

* * *

They awoke to the obnoxious sound of giggling.

"Ugh..." Lucy groaned. To say she felt warm was an understatement. For some reason, it felt as if she was wrapped in a really thick and very warm rope of sorts, but then she realized that the rope was actually someone's arms. _Natsu._

"Ash... I don't wanna get up... you can't make me." Natsu was still half asleep, and definitely had no idea of what was going on. Lucy herself was still realizing why her friends were giggling.

But once she tried to get up, she realized.

Natsu's arms weren't just around her. They seemed to be intertwined to the point of it being difficult to discern who's arm was who's. And boy, was it embarrassing.

"Natsu!" Lucy hissed. He shot awake.

"What is it Ashley?" he untangled himself from her effortlessly, not caring in the slightest about the giggling Erza and Lisanna, or the strangely red faced Gray. "Did I oversleep?"

"Yes," Lisanna giggled. "Ashley, I didn't realize you two were so close."

"Ashley, I do not approve of you sleeping with the opposite gender. We are but sixteen, and-" Erza was cut off by the very red Lucy.

"It's not like that! I had a nightmare, and he refused to leave, and-"

Lisanna chortled. "Hey, it's Natsu, what can you expect?" She motioned to the two boys, who were already arguing about something or the other. Lucy, who was slowly turning a normal color, nodded.

"Why don't we go get breakfast?" suggested Lucy. "We can go to your café, Lisanna!"

"Your strawberry pastries are superb," noted Erza with a dreamy look on her face.

"Natsu! Gray!" Lisanna yelled. "We're going to the café if you want to come!"

They stopped fighting for a whole second. "We'll catch you later!" Natsu replied, before smacking Gray in the face. Lisanna just sighed and headed upstairs, with Erza following shortly behind. Lucy grabbed her guitar and song book and followed.

It didn't seem as if anyone else in the Dragneel family was awake by the time the three girls left the house. The sun had just risen, and a beautiful shade of pink splashed on the horizon.

"I'm going to go freshen up at my apartment," Lucy said. "I need a shower." Erza said she would do the same, and they decided to meet at the café in forty-five minutes.

Lucy skipped all the way home, overjoyed at how easily she was finding friends. And possibly someone she could talk to honestly about her father.

When Lucy entered her apartment building, she was disappointed to see that her lord lady wasn't there. However, she was very happy to see her shower.

After a long, hot bath, Lucy got dressed in her only remaining pair of "normal" clothes, a short pleated brown skirt and light green tank top. " _I'll have to get some more clothes today,"_ she decided, and then headed to Lisanna's café.

* * *

"Hello!" Lucy shouted to Lisanna and Erza, who were already seated by the time she arrived.

"Ashley!" Lisanna called, pulling out her seat. "I got you your usual, on the house. I can tell you'll be here a lot."

"Thanks! And I definitely will!" Lucy needed coffee to function. Yes, she knew it was a crutch, but it sure was a delicious one.

"Ashley." Erza took a bite of her scone. "I was going to go shopping later today. Me and Lisanna could show you around town if you wanted."

"Yes! Of course! I was just about to ask actually, I wasn't able to bring many clothes with me, so that would be great!" Lisanna beamed and began talking about a teachers she hoped she wouldn't get. Erza chimed in, and Lucy listened and commented, soaking up information.

"So, Mrs... Caramonica is bad, and Dr. Austin is... fantabulous?"

"Yes! Fantabulous!" Lisanna stood up to throw away her cup and made wide gestures with her hands. "He's the reason I'm in high math."

It was a trivial conversation, but a refreshing one in Lucy's opinion.

She giggled. "Let's go!"

The three toured the town all day. Lucy purchased enough clothing to last at least though winter, skinny jeans, shirts, skirts, tanks, boots, and hair ribbons. Erza and Lisanna had to help carry her bags by the time they were done.

"Wow," Erza noted, amused. "You really didn't have any clothes." Lucy just laughed.

"Thanks for showing me around guys," she gratefully thanked.

"No problem. It was a lot of fun!" Lisanna waved as Lucy headed into her apartment building.

"We'll see you Monday!" Erza called out.

Once Lucy got to apartment, she put away all of her new clothes, changed into pajamas, and flopped onto her bed. Tomorrow was Sunday, which meant she started school in two days. " _Maybe tomorrow I'll get a job_ ," she thought. Food at Lisanna's café wouldn't always be on the house, and groceries and musical expenses weren't free. " _Tomorrow_ ," Lucy thought, before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Lucy awoke early the next morning to the sound of birds chirping and the rising of the sun. She blearily stepped outside onto her balcony for a second, to admire the scenery. Then, she got down to business.

Searching online for a few minutes, Lucy found a diner's help wanted advertisement. Interviews ended that day, and it seemed as if no one had the job yet. It pain well enough to sustain Lucy, and it definitely helped that she didn't have to worry about paying for her apartment. It seemed to be the perfect joy.

"Yes!" Lucy celebrated victoriously. She got dressed and ready quickly, making sure to appear professional, and was off.

After a ten minute walk, Lucy approached the diner. A Help Wanted sign was posed on the glass door. Lucy grinned, and entered the establishment. When she did, her mouth dropped.

A small blue haired teen skipped around a spacious dimly lit diner, passing out plates and singing while doing it. It was a happy tune, and suited the girl's light and airy voice well. However... "I didn't know it was a _singing_ diner!" Lucy had heard of diners that offered live entertainment, with waiters that sung on the job, but she didn't realize that she was going to ever _apply_ to one.

The song ended, and the customers cheered. The blunette bowed and made her way over to where the dumbstruck Lucy was standing. "Hello, and welcome to The Stellar! How can I help you?" the singing waiter asked.

"I- I'm Ashley Davis. I'm here to apply for the waitressing job. I didn't realize it involved singing though," Lucy explained, nervously threading her fingers together.

"That's just fine! We have positions that don't involve singing, but those aren't available right now. If you wanted to wait and go for one of those later, you could always do that," the waiter offered.

"Thanks... I guess I'll apply now. For the singing part, that is." Lucy gulped, as the blunette took on a bit of an evil grin.

"Great! I'm Levy, a Junior at Fairy Tail! I'll be testing you today!" Levy grinned. "What's your favorite upbeat song?"

"Upbeat? Um, I guess _Gold_ , by Britt Nicole." Lucy didn't really enjoy what would be defined as upbeat music, but when she did listen to it, the song was always super cheesy and motivational. _Gold_ was a perfect example of that.

" _Gold_! Nice choice, that's a fun one." Levy tapped her cordless microphone. "May I have your attention, everyone?" Customers throughout the diner stopped eating and turned their heats towards the blunette. "Someone has finally taken up our job request! Right here is Ashley Davis, and she will be singing _Gold_. Wish her good luck!"

"You'll need it kid!" someone called out. Laughter echoes around the facility, and Levy shoved the mic into Lucy's trembling hands.

"Go get 'em!" she encouraged. "Do tables three, five and eight." Levy pointed them out, and music began playing. Levy slipped away, leaving Lucy alone in a room with lights that were being dimmed and a spotlight that somehow positioned on her. _"Damn it,"_ Lucy thought. _"Might as well give it my best, though._ _"_ A determined Lucy set out into the sea of table, bouncily making her way over to the window with orders. She began to clap with the music, and smiled confidently. Others joined in clapping, and Lucy opened her mouth to sing.

 **Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh**  
 **Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh**  
 **Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh**

 **You were walking on the moon, now you're feeling low**  
 **What they said wasn't true, you're beautiful**  
 **Sticks and stones break your bones, I know what you're feeling**  
 **Words like those won't steal your glow, you're one in a million**

The cook helped slide two plates onto Lucy's arm, and she continued to sing as she made her way over to table three, where a couple was seated.

 **This, this is for all the girls, boys all over the world**  
 **Whatever you've been told, you're worth more than gold**

Lucy slid her plates to the couple, and sang directly to them for a second. She then continued to bounce around the diner, occasionally dropping off a plate or glass.

 **So hold your head up high, it's your time to shine**  
 **From the inside out it shows, you're worth more than gold**  
 **(Gold gold, you're gold)**  
 **You're worth more than gold**  
 **(Gold gold, you're gold)**

 **When everybody keeps score, afraid you're gonna lose**  
 **Just ignore they don't know the real you**  
 **All the rain in the sky can't put out your fire**  
 **Of all the stars out tonight, you shine brighter**

 **This, this is for all the girls, boys all over the world**  
 **Whatever you've been told, you're worth more than gold**  
 **So hold your head up high, it's your time to shine**  
 **From the inside out it shows, you're worth more than gold**  
 **(Gold gold, you're gold)**  
 **You're worth more than gold**  
 **(Gold gold, you're gold)**

Now Lucy was at the part she had been dreading. Luckily for her, _Gold_ had a short wrapping section in it. And Lucy had ever wrapped once in her life. She opened her mouth and gave it a shot.

 **So don't let anybody tell you that you're not loved**  
 **And don't let anybody tell you that you're not enough**  
 **Yeah there are days that we all feel like we're messed up**  
 **But the truth is that we're all diamonds in the rough**

When the wrapping section was over with, Lucy was grateful to receive a short applause.

 **So don't be ashamed to wear your crown**  
 **You're a king you're a queen inside and out**  
 **You glow like the moon, you shine like the stars**  
 **This is for you, wherever you are**

Lucy reached the bridge of the song and a cheer broke out. Simply put, Lucy was shining.

 **Oh, oh, yeah, yeah, oh, oh,**  
 **You're gold**

 **This, this is for all the girls, boys all over the world**  
 **Whatever you've been told, you're worth more than gold**  
 **(So hold your head) So hold your head up high,**  
 **It's your time to shine**  
 **From the inside out it shows, you're worth more than gold**  
 **(Gold gold, you're gold)**  
 **You're worth more than gold**  
 **(Gold gold you're gold)**

 **So don't be ashamed to wear your crown**  
 **You're a king you're a queen inside and out**

The song ended all too soon. Lucy had had way more fun than she thought she would.

The roaring applause she received afterwards only made the deal sweeter.

"Congrats, Lucy!" Levy congratulated. "You've got the job!"

Lucy's mouth dropped. "Are... are you serious?"

"Of course! You were terrific up there! Definitely a natural." Levy grinned and held out a sheet of paper. "Just sign here and we'll make it official!"

Of course, Lucy signed, and just like that, she was officially employed. She spent the day learning the layout of the diner, how to balance three plates while singing, and the ins and outs of working at The Stellar. She also got to know Levy, who along with being in the same age as Lucy and also going Fairy Tail, shared her love of reading.

Lucy worked until ten that night, and then headed home. Her hours were to be from six to ten Sundays though Thursdays, and five to eleven Fridays and Saturdays. Luckily, Levy had the same schedule.

Finally at home and yet again exhausted, Lucy changed and went to bed. However, that night one thing was different from all the nights Lucy had had since her mother's death: it was dreamless.


	6. Chapter 6: For the First Time

_Click._

 _Click._

 _Click._

Lucy's heeled ankle boots tapped the sidewalk as she strided down the sidewalk on her way to Fairy Tail Musical Academy.

 _Fairy Tail Musical Academy._

"I wonder if my mother ever walked these steps," the bright eyed girl contemplated. She probably wasn't the only one who had ever walked to school.

Surprisingly, Lucy wasn't very nervous. Sure, she had first day jitters and all, but that was an everyone thing. She wasn't nervous because she really had no idea of what to be nervous for.

She didn't know if the teachers were nice or mean, good or bad. She didn't know if all the student were as nice as Natsu, Lisanna, Erza, and Gray, or if there were jerks here as well. She didn't know if the cafeteria food stunk, or if she was a way worse singer than everyone else. All she knew was that she thought she would excel.

So there was no reason to worry.

Luckily for Lucy, Fairy Tail was only a couple blocks away from her apartment. It was on the outskirts of town, opposite of where Natsu lived, but took up a lot of space due to student living facilities and the multiple stages within the building.

The walk to Fairy Tail only took about ten minutes.

All to soon, Lucy was approaching a three story, light grey stone building. On the outside, it looked like a distinguished university, but Lucy soon found out that the inside was a different thing entirely.

Student frolicked in the halls, greeting friends, old teachers and playing a plethora of musical instruments. An a cappella group sang tunes and smiled and waved at everyone that passed.

Simply put, there was a whole lot of clamor.

As Lucy clicked her way down the corridor lined with multicolored lockers, students eyed her suspiciously. To them, Lucy probably looked like fresh meat. Or a failure waiting to happen.

Just as Lucy was about to ask someone where the main office was, a familiar blue haired girl started running towards her.

"Ashley!" Levy shrieked as she pulled Lucy into a brief hug. "You made it!"

"Of course I did, Levy," Lucy giggled. "I got to school here now."

The two girls laughed as Levy walked Lucy to the main office.

"I hope we have classes together!" Levy exclaimed as they stood in front of the overbearing office doors.

"Me too! I'll see you later, Levy!" Lucy waved as her friend disappeared into a crowd of students, stopping to yell at a large boy with multiple piercings. Lucy raised an eyebrow but continued into the office.

"Excuse me? I'm-"

"Lucy Heartfilia!" A short man approached Lucy, grinning from ear to ear. "But you asked to be called Ashley Davis, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir," Lucy responded after a second, confused at how the man knew her immediately.

"Call me Makarov. I'm the principal here, and I'm never seen talent as prominent as yours before." Makarov guided Lucy to a smaller office, cluttered with papers and mugs.

Lucy stuttered. "Th-thank you... Makarov."

"All of your teachers here only know you by Ashley Davis. I have not told them your real identity, and don't plan to. Unless, of course, you would like me to." He raised an eyebrow, and Lucy shook her head no quickly. "Have a seat."

Lucy cleared a few papers off the chair, and sat down hesitantly.

"There are some things you should know about this year. All your other classmates have a schedule of events and map of the building. Here those is." Makarov handed her a blue paper, cluttered with dates. "The other student going into the Junior class who have not yet been to Fairy Tail have not arrived yet, but-"

"Excuse me?"

"Spoke too soon," Makarov muttered, but the brightened up. "Ah! Sting Eucliffe! Welcome to Fairy Tail!"

"Thanks," the boy muttered as Lucy took him in. He was tall, with spiky blond hair and blue eyes. Definitely physically appealing.

"I'm Makarov, the principal here. And this is Ashley, another new student in the Junior class." It might have just been her imagination, but for a second Lucy swore that she could see the principal wiggle his eyebrows. "Here is a schedule of events and a map of the building. Take a seat."

Sting sat down on the chair next to Lucy, not bothering to clear off the papers. He crossed his arms, nonchalantly, but with a bit of a cocky smirk on his face.

"This year at Fairy Tail, we will be introducing a new method. None of the other students know about it yet, but just for today all students will stay in their homerooms to take a test. It will last the entire day."

Lucy gulped, imagining all sorts of musical questions she had never heard the answers to. She looked to Sting, who still remained pretty expressionless. Makarov grinned mischievously. "Now-"

"IT'S HIS FAULT!" Makarov sighed, and rubbed his eyes.

"Not already!" he moaned. "Natsu, Gray, what did you do?" Lucy's mouth dropped. She had gotten that the two boys fought a lot, but they had already been sent to the principle's office on the first day of school.

Both boys crossed their arms sullenly, turning away from each other. Finally, Natsu gave his explanation. "Our homeroom teacher saw that he had us both," he began.

"And he freaked and sent us here," Gray finished, pouting. Makarov groaned, and banged his head on his desk.

"Hey Ash!" Natsu said, noticing Lucy. Lucy smiled weakly.

"It seems like you two have a reputation. I feel bad for the teacher." The two accused protested.

Makarov was wailing. "I TOLD GILDARTS TO MAKE SURE YOU TWO WERE FAR APART FROM EACH OTHER!" Then, composing himself, he asked, "Who do you have in homeroom."

"Dr. Austin," Natsu and Gray responded in unison. Lucy gulped.

"That's who I have." The principal suddenly brightened.

"Ashley! As principal here, I give you the task of controlling Natsu and Gray! You're all dismissed!"

"What! That's impossible! I-"

"Come on Ash!" Natsu and Gray slung their arms around Lucy's shoulders, and she was pretty much dragged out of the office, not able to see Sting disappear down an unfamiliar hallway without saying a single word.

"Dr. Austin's cool. One of the best teachers. He just didn't see how someone sane would put us in the same class," Gray explained.

"Gildarts, he does the schedules, he's a trickster!" Natsu grinned. "So what'd Gramps say?"

"Gramps? Makarov? Well, he gave me a map and event schedule, and told me that we would be taking a test all day to determine a new method."

"Test!?" Natsu yelled. "Not on the first day!"

Lucy just nodded sadly. "He said it was a new thing they were doing this year."

Gray groaned. "We'll see what it is soon. For now, we're here!" Natsu and Gray wrapped their arms around Lucy's shoulders again, grinning all the way into the room and causing Lucy to wonder if everyone at Fairy Tail Academy had bipolar personalities.

They approached a man with balding brown hair and a clipboard. His mouth opened slightly as he saw the two boys and Lucy, who smiled weakly.

"I'm Ashley Davis," Lucy explained. "Makarov asked me to control these two." Natsu and Gray acted offended, and stomped off to their desks.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Austin, your math teacher. You'll come to this room for homeroom in the morning and for Study Hall at the end of the day." Lucy nodded.

"Thank you sir!" She found a seat in between Natsu and Gray and began to notice more suspicious eyes watching her. Suddenly, the brunette sitting in front of Lucy turned around.

"So you're new, huh?" she asked with a smirk. Lucy nodded.

"I'm Ashley. I only just applied this year." In hopes of the girl being friendly, Lucy smiled.

"Cana," the girl grunted, motioning towards herself. "Good luck, kid." With that, she turned around, leaving Lucy more nervous than before and contemplating her thoughts to the ringing of a bell. Dr. Austin glanced at the clock as the class fell silent. Without a word, he passed out a thick white packet and number two pencils. When students started asking questions, he silenced them with a hand and wrote sloppily on the whiteboard.

 _I'm not allowed to talk._

When the class began asking things more vehemently, he wrote on the board again.

 _You're not allowed to talk either. When you're done or need a break, leave the classroom and head to Stage A._

That shut everyone up real quickly. Reluctantly, they all positioned their pencils and flipped the booklet open.

Lucy squinted at the page, filled with small print. If she was correct in her assumption, they had all day to complete the packet. Many teens skipped the small print, and headed right to the bubbles. She glanced over at Natsu, who was attempting to read the illegibly small print and Gray, who was doing the same.

Boy, she did not expect something like this on the first day. Sighing under her breath, she held the page up to eye level.

 _The following questions will test your knowledge of the history of music..._

The first few paragraphs went on like that, explaining what they would be assessed on and how to complete the packet. Just as Lucy was about to stop reading, she noticed something peculiar about the bottom the page. It read:

 _Congratulations. If you're reading this, you either read all the instructions or happed to come across this passage. There is no need to complete all the questions in the packet. Skip to either page 536, 457, 334 or 227 and complete the questions on that page. Good luck._

Lucy grinned, and met Gray's eye. She held up two fingers below her desk. Grey nodded, and they both flipped to the same page of the packet. Natsu just yawned and laid his head down on the desk, falling asleep immediately.

Page 272 contained all sorts of odd questions.

 _1\. What is your favorite color?_

 _2\. If you got a tattoo, where would you put it?_

 _3\. What is the more important to you? Appearances, Friendship, Pride, or Fun?_

 _4\. Why do you pursue music?_

 _5\. What makes you unique?_

 _6\. Why do you think you had to answer these questions?_

Lucy studied the questions. What in the world did they mean? She shrugged, not caring, and began to fill out the boxes given.

 _1._ _ **Pink.**_

Pink was a pretty cheerful color.

 _2. **Right** **Hand.**_

If you're going to get a tattoo, you might as well get it where it's obvious.

 _3. **Friendship.**_

Appearances weren't everything, pride can kill and fun didn't always matter. Plus, Lucy was still learning what fun was. So, friendship seemed pretty reliable.

 _4. **Music allows me to escape into a separate reality, one normally better than my own.**_

That answer spoke for itself.

 _5. **My past, my present, and my outlook on the future.**_

An ominous and weird question deserved an equally ominous and weird answer.

 _6. **You want to separate the students into divisions and see how we answer at the same time.**_

Well, that part seemed kind of obvious. All of the questions seemed to be aimed towards figuring out a person.

Lucy finished the page, closed the booklet, and leaned back in her chair. Dr. Austin smiled and winked at her. All the other students were bent over their packets, frantically scribbling essay answers. They hadn't bothered to read the instructions.

Or in Natsu and Cana's case, they hadn't done anything.

Gray was just finishing his page, tapping his pencil on the desk while thinking of the next answer.

Natsu sat up at his desk and yawned, showing all his pointy canines. When he noticed Lucy's closed packet, his mouth dropped. To Lucy, he mouthed, "break" and got up and left the room. Gray followed, and Cana must have woken up because she followed as well.

The first thing Lucy said when they were all safely in the hallway and out of earshot was, "You've got to read the instructions."

Natsu yawned again, and Cana joined in. "That's what I was gonna do, idiot."

"Yes, but you have to read the _whole thing_ , got it?" Lucy was adamant. "You too, Cana. Take the fourth option. That's what me and Gray did. Right?" Gray nodded and smirked.

"I did the packet faster than you, Flame-Brain."

"No you didn't! You haven't even-"

"Keep the noise down, out there!" Dr. Austin stuck his head out the door, breaking the no talking for teachers rule. Lucy nodded quickly, and Cana and Natsu headed back into the classroom. Gray started walking left down the corridor, with Lucy following closely behind because she had no idea where to go.

"Stage A, right?" Lucy whispered.

"Yeah. It's the largest one." Gray shoved his hands into his deep pockets and glanced at Lucy. "So, how'd you answer the first three?"

"Oh. Um... pink... right hand... friendship. You?"

"Navy blue. Right pectoral. Friendship. All that goopy stuff they wanted to hear." Gray stared straight, and turned down a smaller hallway. "The stage is right ahead."

Indeed it was. The double doors opened into a huge auditorium filled with velvet blue seats and an enormous stage, covered with heavy blue curtains.

"... Wow." To say Lucy was amazed would be putting it mildly.

"Ashley!" From a front row seat, Levy waved back at Luce. She was seated next to a boy with long, green hair, and the large boy with piercings she had been yelling at earlier. "You figured it out!"

"Yep! Pretty simple, actually, if you read the instructions." Lucy paused for a second, and took a seat in the row behind Levy and to the right of Gray. "So what page did you do?"

"272. I just wonder what was on the other pages. I never thought to look."

"I did!" Natsu burst through the doors, grin across his face.

"You _did_?" To Lucy, Natsu didn't seem to be... intellectually adept. Musically and physically, absolutely though.

The pink haired teen scowled. "Of course. I wanted to choose the easiest, but they were all the same. So I did 272, like you said." He claimed the seat next to Lucy. "Gajeel! What're _you_ doing here?"

"I have a brain, dumbo," he growled.

"Do I hear fighting?" The scarlet haired girl strode through the row confidently, Lisanna, skipping behind her.

"E-Erza," they both stuttered, placing their hands in their laps. "No, you don't."

"Erza! Lisanna!" Lucy greeted them. "You got it too!"

After then, a small tickle of students leaked through the double doors and plopped down in seats, waiting for the day to finish. At one point, when times got desperate, some students started karaoke. Natsu sang "Girl on Fire," and Gray performed "Let it Go," and that was about as exciting as it got. Lucy, Erza, Lisanna and Levy compared schedules, and discovered that they all had Period 3, Instrument, together. That class, as Lucy was told, was basically free time to work on a new song, riff, or whatever you felt like. The only requirement was that one project had to be completed each month.

In addition to Period 3, Lucy had Period 4 with Levy and Lisanna, Period 5 with Erza and Lisanna, Lunch with all of them, Period 7 with Erza and Period 8 with Levy.

 **[(A/N) Refresher for y'all**

 ** _Homeroom (7:40-7:50) - Dr. Austin - A201_**

 ** _Period 1 (7:50-8:39) - Trigonometry - Dr. Austin - A206_**

 ** _Period 2 (8:39-9:28) - Vocal Instruction - Ms. Reimers - C111_**

 ** _Period 3 (9:28-10:17) - Instrument - Staff - B103_**

 ** _Period 4 (10:17-11:06) - The Basics of Lyric and Instrumental Writing for Juniors - Dr. Ruch - A204_**

 ** _Period 5 (11:06-11:55) - Science - Mrs. Blanchard - A106_**

 ** _Period 6 (11:55-12:25) - Lunch - Staff - Cafeteria_**

 ** _Period 7 (12:25-1:14) - History of Music for Juniors - Mrs. Crowley - A107_**

 ** _Period 8 (11:14-2:03) - Instrument - Staff - B103_**

 ** _Study Hall (2:03-2:31) - Staff - A201_**

 ** _Organize (2:31-2:36) - Dr. Austin - A201]_**

Lucy didn't have a chance to ask Natsu and Gray what classes they had; they were so wound up that they threw punches just because.

Around 12:30, a bell rang. Makarov came up to the stage, wrestled the mic away from Natsu, and announced in a cheerful voice, "Please take your seats. Everyone else will be here shortly and we have a ceremony to run!" Multitudes of questions aroused immediately, but of course, none of them were answered. In about ten minutes, the auditorium was jam packed with students, most appearing rather grumpy and debating over answers that really didn't mean anything. Finally, Makarov came up on stage again.

"Ah hem? Ah hem! Thank you." The students quieted quickly. "Today, all of you have had to take this really long and boring test. However, how many of you skipped the instructions?" Some students raised their hands, while others just turned sheepish. "Well, if you have read the instructions, you would have found that you were only required to complete one page out of all 600."

First there was silence. Then-

"No way!"

"Come on!"

"What the fuck dude?

"Well. We wasted time."

"Asshole."

That last one was muttered by quite a few students. Lucy just grinned, glad to have read the instructions.

"Even though most questions were pointless, there was a reason behind these tests."

Hmm. An actual reason.

Makarov continued. "This year, for the first time in Fairy Tail Musical Academy's history, we will be separating students into four houses."

* * *

 **(A/N) I don't own Fairy Tail. Maybe if I did I would be exploding constantly. Because at random moments, I just think "OMGOMGOMG Natsu's in denial! And Happy's a believer! And Layla OMG!" And then I get sad and think, "There was no bro moment T_T"**

 **Hey guys! So I said I was updating Friday, and I did! Sorry for the slight cliffhanger, but I need to think out how not to make this too Harry Potterish.**

 **Having different houses never occurred to me when I was writing my outline, but then all of a sudden, I thought, "What if there was this huge test and all the different guilds resurfaced?" So yep. That happened.**

 **Chapter Note: So, Lucy's finally made it to Fairy Tail! Only took 6 Chapters and over 15K words! Yay! I cannot believe I once thought this would only be 8 chapters, because now, I get inspiration at the most random moments. At dinner this week, I heard a really sad song on Pandora and fell in love instantly. I knew I had to include it. So, I was thinking that Lucy couldn't do it and then BOOM! I have this whole new awesome plotline that I've never really read before! I think. I hope. I'm trying my best to add new twists along the way, so bear with me while I find the perfect road to take while deciding plot with finality!**

 **Also, I added a little crack. I was listening to Pentatonix's Christmas album (completely awesome, the twists on regular carols are astounding) and then couldn't get the idea of Gray singing Let it Go, from Frozen, out of my head. And now, Natsu has a reason to call him ice princess :D And of course, Natsu then had to sing Girl on Fire by Alicia Keyes.**

 **I definitely want to do a Natsu/Leo Lucy/Annabeth cross over. Tell me if you think that's a good idea, 'cause it'll happen!**

 **Thanks to anyone who read this very long A/N! Thank you so much to all of my followers, favoriters, commenters, and viewers! You guys are amazing, as usual :D**

 **One last note: Once I reach 40 followers, I'll be posting once per week, probably every Saturday. I feel like this way, the story will be established and I'll have more time to write longer and better chapters!**

 **So thanks so much!**

 **~Cierra**


	7. Chapter 7: I Am Invincible

**A/N I don't own Fairy Tail. But a note to the owner. It's been 10 days. HURRY UP.**

 **Hey! Wow, I haven't updated for a bit! This chapter isn't that long, but I wanted to put something out there.**

 **THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL MY FOLLOWERS, FAVORITERS, COMMENTERS, AND VIEWERES! You guys are amazing for having read this much, and I'm so lucky!**

 **I'm sorry for the not as good chapter quality. All I can say is that I'm failing math, as well as the rest of my advanced math class. Thank you, Mrs. C, for my first F.**

 **Chapter Note: May be a bit fast paced, but like I've said, once this is all written out I'll go back through and edit for all that spiel. Also, I'll change Fairy Tail Musical Academy to Magnolia Musical Academy, so that the school houses make more sense. I didn't plan on having houses, so didn't realize my mistake.**

 **Song used: _I Am Invincible_ by Cassadee Pope. If you don't usually listen to the songs in fanfics, _listen to this one. It is EPIC._ So epic that I wrote out a piano instrumental to it XDXDXD.**

 **YouTube link is below. Enjoy!**

 **watch?v=mflNIaKLzbo**

* * *

"Houses?" Lucy wondered out loud.

"They must have wanted to create rifts within the student body... see how we react... plus there'll be more competitions..." Levy listed possibilities with a far away look in her eyes. Gajeel snorted, and crossed his arms.

Natsu, like the 7 year old he seemed to be, was bouncing up and down excitedly. "Yes! There's no way me and Gray'll be together this year!"

Makarov shushed everyone yet again. "If you kiddos don't just shut up, I'll be forced to let you out late. And _nobody_ wants that." When he said nobody, he meant nobody. The avid teenagers quickly snuffed whatever noise they were making.

"That's better. Now, me and part of the staff have gone through your test. We have assigned you to a house based on what you completed and answered. The 100 of you who read the instructions will be placed within either Sabertooth, Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale, or, of course, Fairy Tail. Those who did not follow instructions will be placed in group A, B, C, D, E, or F based off actual test results. Shocker, I know. Now, first up..."

Makarov droned on and on. Maybe it was just a strategy to create boredom, but if it was, it definitely worked. The only reason Lucy was about to stay awake was because she knew her fake last name was early on in the alphabet.

"Cana Alberona." Cana took to the stage, hair swooshing back and forth and she confidently swaggered over to Makarov. "Fairy Tail!" Cana grabbed something from Makarov's hands. She had been the first one to be called for Fairy Tail, and Lucy though she was the first for a real house as well. The majority of everyone was in a letter house

 _"I wonder what I'll be..."_ Lucy pondered nervously. She had no knowledge of the different houses, but at least no one else did either.

"Ashley Davis." Makarov smiled as he read Lucy's fake name, and Natsu shoved her down the isle. Lucy padded up the stairs, cheeks burning but not from nervousness. She clicked down the hardwood stage and Makarov read her fate. "Fairy Tail!" Soon enough, a purple slip with a date and address was shoved into her hands and Lucy was yet again at her seat, wondering what could happen next. What if Fairy Tail was a bad house? What if she knew no one besides Cana? What if she wasn't even with her band? Would they still want her?

"Natsu Dragneel," Makarov muttered, turning cross. Natsu just grinned and bounced up to the stage, waving to the audience. "Fairy Tail!"

Shortly after that, Sting, the boy from the office, was called up. "Sabertooth," Makarov uttered for the first time.

"Jellal Fernandez." Lucy noted that Erza's cheeks burned as red as her hair when the blue haired boy walked across the stage. "Fairy Tail!"

"Gray Fullbuster." Gray ambled up the steps. "Fairy Tail!" Lucy let out a breath of relief. Two of her band mates were in the same house as her.

A flurry of names passed by. "Levy McGarden. Fairy Tail!' Another breath of relief was let out, as Lucy's fellow book nerd grasped the purple slip.

"Gajeel Redfox." This time, Levy turned took on the characteristics of a tomato. "Fairy Tail!"

"Erza Scarlet." Another band member.

Lucy crossed her fingers. _"Please..."_

"Fairy Tail!" The scarlet haired teen held up the purple slip victoriously.

The last person Lucy knew to be called up was Lisanna. By that point, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Erza all seemed to be anticipating the one answer they longed for.

"Fairy Tail!" They all broke out into cheers, and Makarov groaned

"Just shut up, we're almost through." It took almost another ten minutes, but eventually, everyone had been called.

Makarov had one more announcement. "For all of those who don't appreciate the unfairness of our sorting ways, you signed up for this. Any of you are able to drop out whenever you must. Anyone on Fairy Tail, Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale, or Sabertooth, please go the given address at the given time. You are not able to switch houses yourselves, but if anyone else desires for you to be in their house, they may file a complaint with me. Thank you for your time, everyone is dismissed!"

Before you could even blink, everyone was out the doors.

"Hey, Ash!" Natsu exclaimed over the crowd. "It's normally a tradition to go to this diner, The Stellar, tonight. You should come with!"

Lucy smiled. "I work there, actually. So see you tonight!" Lucy waved over her shoulder and began towards her locker.

* * *

Lucy was exhausted. By the time she got home, all she wanted to do was sink into a hot bath and hash out some lyrics she had been messing with, inspired by her new beginning. The beginning of something that was already wonderful. It truly was everything Lucy had ever longed for.

So as Lucy walked to The Stellar, she brought her guitar with her, humming a strong melody all the way.

"Hey Levy!" Lucy waved to Levy as she entered the restaurant. Levy waved back.

"Hey Ashley!" A soft piano instrumental played in the background. "You ready for tonight?"

Lucy gulped. "Anything special about tonight?"

"Of course! It's the first day of school, all the students flock here tonight! I expect you to sing your best!" The blue haired girl chirped. "You're taking the main slot tonight!"

"M-main slot? No, no, I shouldn't-"

"But you _have_ to! Mira, our main singer, can't come, and you're really the strongest singer we've got!" Lucy could see there was no arguing. She sighed.

"Well, I did just write a new song..."

* * *

Two exhausting hours later, the night reached it's climax. The Stellar was swarmed with students, Natsu, Erza, Gray and Lisanna included. As Lucy dropped off their orders, Gray asked the one question they had all be wondering. "So, we've been her for a while. You haven't sung yet." They all looked at her expectantly.

"Well, you see, I'm kind of the main singer, so I guess that means I don't sing until all the seats are filled." Erza gasped, and Lisanna squealed.

"You're taking Mira's place! I'm so proud of you Ashley!"

Even Erza was impressed. "That's a hard slot to fill. Do us proud." Lucy grinned weakly, and setting down the last place, she wandered back to the kitchen counter to pick up the next order.

"Ashley!" Levy shouted out from across the room. "We're almost full! Get ready!" Over the commotions, no one else could hear what Levy had said. However, anyone could have spotted Lucy's face go red and her hands begin to wobble. Sure, she had performed before, but not in front of the entire school body, who would be watching and judging. They would be harsh critics too, as they were students of Fairy Tail.

After setting down two plates in front of a young couple, Lucy headed over to the music control center. She pulled grabbed her guitar and waited for Levy's announcement. Sure enough, it came just as soon as the last table was seated.

"Hey everyone!" The crowd greeted her back with a roar. "Tonight, we've got a fantastic new addition to Fairy Tail, singing her newly written song, I Am Invincible! Please welcome Ashley Davis!" Noises in the room reduced to a slight whisper. Lucy took a deep breath and donned a smile as she glided out of the room, playing her acoustic guitar.

 **Broken glass inside won't cut through me**  
 **Pain behind my eyes I turn into strength**  
 **Oh I will fight, I will survive**

The crowd watched as Lucy's raw and powerful voice reached the chorus, spellbound by the genuine feeling the song emitted.

 **I am invincible**  
 **I am unbreakable**  
 **I am a diamond cut to last**

Lucy belted the chorus and sang directly to the customers.

 **I am unstoppable**  
 **I am a hero**  
 **Like a phoenix from the ash**  
 **Oh-ah, oh-ah, oh-ah-ooh**  
 **Invincible**

 **Cracks run through these walls, But they still stand strong**  
 **Oh heart covered in scars, But my fear is gone**  
 **Oh I will fight, I will survive**

Lucy locked eyes with Natsu, who gave her an encouraging thumbs up and grin.

 **I am invincible**  
 **I am unbreakable**  
 **I am a diamond cut to last**  
 **I am unstoppable**  
 **I am a hero**  
 **Like a phoenix from the ash**  
 **Oh-ah, oh-ah, oh-ah-ooh**

 **Nothing gonna make me break or shatter**  
 **No one's gonna tell me I don't matter, no**  
 **I won't let you**

 **Time is running out, keeps getting faster**  
 **Gotta find a way, rewrite the answers**  
 **Til I can say**

She quieted her tone as the crowd grew transfixed, and then began to increase her volume and intensity yet again.

 **I am invincible**  
 **I am unbreakable**  
 **I am a diamond that will last**  
 **I am unstoppable**  
 **I am a hero**  
 **Like a phoenix from the ash**  
 **I am invincible**  
 **I am unbreakable**  
 **I am a diamond that will last**

For the first time, Lucy noted Sting, from Sabertooth, in the crowd, seated at a table with a black haired boy. He whispered something to the boy, and with that, they both got up and left.

 **Oh-ah, oh-ah, oh-ah-ooh**  
 **Oh-ah, oh-ah, oh-ah-ooh**  
 **Invincible**

Lucy finished up on the diner's small stage, faced with a group of enthusiastically cheering students. She grinned and waved, slowly walking off stage and back into the sound room where collapsed onto the ground and panted with relief. They hadn't hated her performance.

And the thing was, she hadn't hated it either.

When Lucy had caught her breath, she went back into the main diner and began serving customers again. However, something had changed. Instead of her smile being met with an empty but appreciative one, she was met with awed faces and warm smiles. Now, everyone at Fairy Tail knew who she was. There would be no going back from the life she had chosen.

* * *

The next morning, Lucy woke up late.

As she began to wake up, she blearily noted the time on her flashing alarm clock. "7...30." She yawned, then realized that school began in less than 15 minutes. "Shit!" There would be no time to shower.

Lucy quickly donned a pair of short black jean shorts and a loose fitting purple shirt. She tied her hair into a small side ponytail with a messy yellow ribbon, and slipped on a pair of black vans. Grabbing an apple, she raced through her door and to her destination.

Lucy bounced hurriedly down the streets and finally burst through Fairy Tail's double doors, finding her was to first period. She was only 5 minutes late.

"Miss. Ashley. You are late." Dr. Austin greeted her sternly, eying her backpack.

"I'm so sorry sir. I-"

"Save your excuses for later. You are needed in the office." The teacher's eyes softened, and he motioned towards the door.

"O-Ok," Lucy stuttered, and exited the room. "Now where the heck is the office..."

Fortunately, Lucy managed to find her way to the office without much trouble. There, she walked slowly to Makarov's cluttered area and saw Sting and Natsu seated at the desk in front of the principal. Both teens appearing annoyed and cross.

"Hello?" Lucy greeted them, wondering why Sting and Natsu were there.

"Good morning Ashely Davis! Pull up a seat." Lucy dragged a lone chair and pulled it in between Sting and Natsu, who still had yet to say anything. "Before I begin, let me read aloud a section of our school policies." Makarov pulled out a stapled sheet of paper and turned to an end page. "'Houses will be assigned to each student based upon their results from the _Magnolia Standard Musical Knowledge Assessment: Fairy Tail Addition_. Students are not able to switch houses on their own. However, if another student should desire for that student to be placed in a different house, he or she may file a report. From there, an agreement of sorts must be made to determine the student's placement.'" Makarov looked Lucy in the eye. "Sting here has filed a report asking you to join Sabertooth. Natsu caught wind of this and protested. You three will have to reach an agreement. Have fun!" With that, the mischievous old man leapt off his seat and left the room, closing the door behind him and trapping Lucy with two very angry boys.


	8. Chapter 8: Stand

**(A/N) I don't own Fairy Tail. If I did I would be able to update sooner (maybe)**

 **Hey guys! First off, I'm so so so sorry I haven't updated sooner. Between the holidays, visiting cousins with no internet, family issues, and awful math teachers, I haven't had time to write at all. I really hope I made it up to you with this chapter. I've got ten songs and a rather predictable surprise!**

 **Songs included in chapter (in order) are:**

 ** _This Means War_ by Marianas Trench **

**_Some Nights_ by fun.**

 ** _Amnesia_ by 5 Seconds of Summer **

**_Centuries_ by Fall Out Boy**

 ** _Radioactive_ by Imagine Dragons**

 ** _Demons_ by Imagine Dragons**

 ** _Stiches_ by Shawn Mendes**

 ** _Drive By_ by Train**

 ** _Here's to the Zeros_ by Marianas Trench**

 ** _Stand_ by Rascal Flatts**

 **Please read the author's note at the end, and enjoy :D**

* * *

Lucy gulped. What was Makarov thinking, shutting her in his office with two very opinionated and hormonal males? At that moment, they might as well have been dragons, due to the amount of ferociousness radiating off them both. But why?

 _"Oh, right,"_ Lucy remembered. _"Sting wants me to join Sabertooth."_

Taking a deep breath, Lucy asked Sting a simple question. "Sting, why do you want me to join Sabertooth?"

"'I want you in my band, and we newbies better stick together." He paused for a second. " And I would guess that you're the best singer in this school, or at least the best performer. You were a natural at The Stellar."

"But she's already in my band!" Natsu screamed. Sting just grinned slyly.

"Not officially, she's not. Sabertooth still had a chance, and according to the rules, my request has to be acted upon. Lucy?"

"Ahh... yeah?"

"How're we going to see which house you're in?" Great. Of course it would be up to her.

"Well..." Lucy was stumped. She didn't want to join Sabertooth, but something had to be done to determine that. So what would give Fairy Tail the best chance?

Suddenly, Natsu shot out of his seat. "My band versus yours, Sting! A battle of the bands!" He grinned, and Lucy contemplated a competition.

Sting smirked. "Each band gets to have four members. How's this Friday at 6, at Stage A, sound?"

Lucy jotted the information down on one of Makarov's white boards. Natsu's band against Stings, four members each, Friday, 6 p.m., Stage A. "That sounds fine. How about we have a moderator, and that person can randomly decide at any moment while one band is playing to have to other band start. And the songs have to flow into each other. Decently." Ok, maybe she was making it a bit challenging, but she knew Natsu could handle it. She didn't know what Sting's abilities were, and was simply hoping they wouldn't be able to keep up at the competition.

Sting stuck out his hand, and Natsu shook it. "See you Friday," Sting said, and walked out to the office. Lucy collapsed into a chair and banged her head on the desk.

"Why'd he do that?" she groaned.

"'Cause he was right, you are the best signer and performer at Fairy Tail. He wants you for himself, but I'm not gonna let that happen!" Natsu grasped Lucy by the shoulders and pulled her upright. "You get back to class, and I'll tell Gramps about the competition." Lucy nodded, and smiled gratefully.

"Thanks," she said, wishing there was something else she could say.

* * *

The rest of the day went by all too slowly. Lucy was stuck daydreaming in math, as she soon realized she was way ahead of the curriculum. Period 2, Vocal Instruction, was a long lecture about vocal techniques. It was kind of interesting, but Lucy didn't know anyone in that class. The only person who she thought she might become friends with was Yukino, from Sabertooth, who seemed timid but determined to do her best. She was new to the school that year also.

In Period 3, Instrument, no teacher showed up. However, Lucy had Erza, Lisanna, Natsu, Gray and Levy to tell her that a teacher rarely ever showed up for that class, as it was pretty much a free period to mess around with instruments. There, Lucy told them about the Friday competition. Erza, Gray and Lisanna were sent into grim shock, which quickly turned into rapid practicing a variety of songs. It was decided that Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Lisanna would participate, but Natsu would have to be the main singer because Lucy couldn't participate.

So during Period 3, Lucy watches as The Ashes, minus herself, frantically compiled songs that Natsu could sing into a huge, messy pile, and some banging on various instruments as they all attempted to learn the parts to twenty songs. Lucy was forced to calm them all, and create a schedule to learning the songs so that they wouldn't be so... disorganized.

Lucy had Period 4, The Basics of Lyric and Instrumental Writing for Juniors, with Levy, Lisanna, and Natsu and Gajeel. The teacher, Dr. Ruch, turned out to be a good teacher and pretty funny, and didn't lecture them. All he said was that he wouldn't tolerate disobedience but encourage creativity of all kinds.

Period 5, Science, was spent collecting a flurry of papers. Lucy was glad to see that she had Erza, Lisanna, and Gray in that class with her, but was a bit weirded out when a light blue haired girl seemed to be stalking Gray. She introduced herself to Lucy as Juvia, and instantly declared Lucy her "love rival". It was an odd class, to say the least.

It was a welcome break when Period 6, Lunch, finally came. Lucy found herself dragged by Natsu to a table with him, Gray, Erza, Lisanna, Levy, Gajeel, Jellal, Cana, and two boys named Jet and Droy who were obsessed with Levy. It was a crazy lunch, and it seemed as if the cafeteria had been divided between the houses, Sabertooth being as far away from Fairy Tail as possible. Lucy heard a bunch of whispers about the Friday competition. Word spread fast at that school, that was for sure

After Lunch, Lucy had 7th Period History with Erza and Jellal. Yukino was also in that class, but avoided Lucy. After asking around a little, Lucy found out that she was to be part of the Sabertooth band with Sting.

Period 8 was another instrument, this time spent with just Levy, Natsu, and Gray. Again, no teacher showed up and Natsu and Gray argued over songs to learn.

Study Hall was spent in the music room with The Ashes, as they ran through a few songs they had thrown together during the day. Though a bit rushed, they all showed potential.

Soon, Lucy was heading home. She donned her headphones and trudged sullenly back to her apartment. Settling into a comfy chair by the window, Lucy chose a book and read it until she had to head to The Stellar. The night passed by in a whirl. Lucy sang, but her mind wasn't with her. When she got home again, she settled into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The week passed by in a blur. All Lucy could think about was the competition. Luckily, she was ahead in math and history, and the musical classes all had assignments due at the end of each month. Lucy worked on those assignments, but mostly worried. The Ashes sounded fantastic, but she had no idea how Sting's band would do. She took comfort in the fact that the Ashes had managed to learn 15 songs by Thursday, and contributed as best as she could. Natsu was a machine, helping everyone learn his songs the way he wanted them to sound, but not putting too much pressure on them. Lucy couldn't help but notice how great a teacher he was.

And then there as Friday.

The Ashes had previously decided to run through all of their songs during 3rd period. While Erza, Gray, and Lisanna set up their instruments, Natsu wandered into the classroom, late and engrossed on his notepad. "I've got something to do," he said simple, without taking his eyes off the sheet, and sat in a corner with a dozen spare pencils and furrowed brows. Lucy's mouth dropped, and Erza, Gray and Lisanna just groaned.

"Sometimes he just get's like that," Lisanna explained. "When he gets a song idea, he does nothing else but write it all day."

"All... day?" Lucy asked, voice rising. "But the competition's _today_!"

Gray shrugged. "Just let him write. He should be done by then if we don't stop him." And Natsu just sat there, not hearing a thing.

That's how in went all day. In Period 4, Natsu sat at the desk next to Lucy but kept his head down the entire class, erasing, scribbling and crossing out constantly. He went through three pencils in that class alone.

He was the same during lunch too. Natsu sat at the end of the table and continued to write, not looking up even when Gray began shouting his name and waving his hands in his face.

Period 8, Instrument, was spent the same way as Period 3, except at the end of class, Natsu stood up and shouted out "Tada!" He held up a cluster of crumpled papers, and after handing a few to Gray, he ran off to find Erza and Lisanna. Gray just accepted to paper and began to learn his part.

All too soon, the end of the day came. When the bell rang, Lucy shouldered her backpack and headed to Stage A. She was the first one there, because The Ashes had to drag their instruments in.

The next ones in were Natsu and Sting, who seemed to be having an actual conversation.

"Hey!" Lucy shouted out, a bit confused. The two looked up at her with determination shrouding their eyes, looked back at each other, and shook hands solemnly. Lucy face palmed, and went to help Erza bring her drum set up on stage.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon consisted mainly of _The Ashes_ playing as loudly as they could, for practice, but mostly to annoy Sting's band, who didn't yet have a name. "We'll come up with a name when we have you, Ashley," Sting had said, smirking. At 5:30, students form Fairy Tail and Sabertooth, plus some kids from other houses, began flooding the stage seating. By 6, the area was jam-packed.

Viewing the audience from her front row seat, Lucy couldn't help but realize that they were all there because of _her_. Just because she apparently had a good voice, all this trouble had happened. So of course it was impossible to ignore the quelching feeling in her gut, stirring up nerves and anticipation because even though she wasn't playing, they were playing because of her.

Finally, Makarov stepped out from behind the deep velvet curtain. Fumbling with a microphone placed too tall for him, he announced to the crowd in a triumphant voice, "Thank you all for coming tonight! As you should all know, this is to be a Battle of the Bands, between Fairy Tail students Lisanna Strauss, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, and Natsu Dragneel, and Sabertooth students Yukino Agria, Rouge Cheney, Minerva Orland, and Sting Eucliffe!"

"Sabertooth will begin, as they're the challengers, and Fairy Tail will follow when I dictate to them. That could be at any moment, and they have to keep the rhythms flowing or Sabertooth wins. Ready, set, play!"

As soon as Makarov began to walk off stage, Sabertooth broke into an quick upbeat tune.

 **But that's not what I came for, my amour**  
 **I hate to admit it but I miss the war**  
 **Oh**  
 **Gotta get you under fire quick**  
 **Brace for it**  
 **I'd rather be a riot than indifferent**  
 **Oh**  
 **Oh, This means war, yeah**  
 **This means, this means, this means, this means war**

 _"Oh, crap,"_ Lucy though as Sting finished his impressive vocals and the crowd cheered. It seemed like this competition would be more difficult than she thought.

Makarov motioned to Fairy Tail, and Lucy's friends picked up the beat.

 **This is it, boys, this is war - what are we waiting for?**  
 **Why don't we break the walls already?**

Lucy felt a wave of relief as her side started out strong and Natsu worked the crowd. They really could win this.

 **I was never one to believe the hype**  
 **Save that for the black and white**  
 **I try twice as hard and I'm half as liked,**  
 **But here they come again to jack my style**

 **That's alright (that's alright)**  
 **I found a martyr in my bed tonight**  
 **She stops my bones from wondering just who I am, who I am, who I am**  
 **Oh, who am I? Mmm... Mmm...**

Makarov danced on stage and motioned as Sabertooth. They slowed the beat a bit.

 **I remember the day you told me you were leaving**  
 **I remember the make-up running down your face**  
 **And the dreams you left behind you didn't need them**  
 **Like every single wish we ever made**

Lucy stifled a yawn. It was a beautiful song, but although the crowd loved it, it wasn't the extreme rock and roll she was kind of expecting.

 **I wish that I could wake up with amnesia**  
 **And forget about the stupid little things**  
 **Like the way it felt to fall asleep next to you**  
 **And the memories I never can escape**

Luckily, Makarov must have felt the same way as her, as he quickly pointed to Fairy Tail who immediately picked up the pace.

 **Some legends are told**  
 **Some turn to dust or to gold**  
 **But you will remember me**  
 **Remember me for centuries**  
 **And just one mistake**  
 **Is all it will take**  
 **We'll go down in history**  
 **Remember me for centuries**  
 **He-e-e-ey ya, oh he-e-e-ey**  
 **He-e-e-ey ya**  
 **Remember me for centuries**

On that note, Makarov hesitantly motioned to Sabertooth, who finally played something somewhat serious sounding.

 **I'm waking up to ash and dust**  
 **I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust**  
 **I'm breathing in the chemicals**

 **I'm breaking in, I'm shaping up, then checking out of the prison bus**  
 **This is it, the apocalypse**  
 **Whoa**

 **I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones**  
 **Enough to make my systems blow**  
 **Welcome to the new age, to the new age**  
 **Welcome to the new age, to the new age**

Lucy's nails were stubs by the time Fairy Tail began to play again, from what sounded like the middle of a song.

 **Don't wanna let you down**  
 **But I am hell bound**  
 **Though this is all for you**  
 **Don't wanna hide the truth**

 **No matter what we breed**  
 **We still are made of greed**  
 **This is my kingdom come**  
 **This is my kingdom come**

Erza dropped the beat and the now wild crowd exploded.

 **When you feel my heat**  
 **Look into my eyes**  
 **It's where my demons hide**  
 **It's where my demons hide**  
 **Don't get too close**  
 **It's dark inside**  
 **It's where my demons hide**  
 **It's where my demons hide**

And then, Fairy Tail's hopes and dreams seemed to be crushed as Sabertooth began their next heart throbber.

 **Got a feeling that I'm going under**  
 **But I know that I'll make it out alive**  
 **If I quit calling you my lover**  
 **Move on**

 **You watch me bleed until I can't breathe**  
 **Shaking, falling onto my knees**  
 **And now that I'm without your kisses**  
 **I'll be needing stitches**  
 **Tripping over myself**  
 **Aching, begging you to come help**  
 **And now that I'm without your kisses**  
 **I'll be needing stitches**

Stubs. That's what Lucy's fingernails were by the time the music switched. Even so, it seemed Fairy Tail had another trick up their sleeve.

 **On the other side of a street I knew**  
 **Stood a girl that looked like you**  
 **I guess that's déjà vu**  
 **But I thought this can't be true**  
 **'Cause you moved to west LA**  
 **Or New York or Santa Fe**  
 **Or wherever to get away from me**

 **Oh but that one night**  
 **Was more than just right**  
 **I didn't leave you 'cause I was all through**  
 **Oh I was overwhelmed and frankly scared as hell**  
 **Because I really fell for you**

 **Oh I swear to you**  
 **I'll be there for you**  
 **This is not a drive by**

Natsu locked eyes with Lucy as he sang.

 **Just a shy guy looking for a two-ply**  
 **Hefty bag to hold my love**  
 **When you move me everything is groovy**  
 **They don't like it sue me**  
 **Mmm the way you do me**  
 **Oh I swear to you**  
 **I'll be there for you**  
 **This is not a drive by**

By that point, it seemed as if any team could have been the winner. So when Sabertooth began to play yet again, Lucy was hoping for some kind of epic fail.

 **Hey kids, do you wanna do what I do?**  
 **I got sick, got kicked out of high school.**  
 **I guess then, I kinda got arrested,**  
 **With a car and a chase and a drug test.**

What she received was just plain old epicness.

 **These days, they don't wanna be near that.**  
 **'Cause if you're selling records they don't wanna hear that.**  
 **Clean cut, we do it like Disney.**  
 **Well adjusted, trusted, trust me.**

 **Party anthems get them dancin'.**  
 **Well I'm the king of second chancin'.**  
 **Airbrush, shiny, notoriety.**  
 **They disappear into the back to go and get high-ity.**

Lucy felt her stomach queltch as Makarov allowed them to play longer that he ever had.

 **Hey! Ho!**  
 **Where did all the good go?**  
 **Baby, this is where you're dead wrong.**  
 **Alright!**  
 **Hey! Ho!**  
 **Here's to all the zeroes!**  
 **And every misfit,**  
 **And all my down and outs**  
 **Hey! Ho!  
** **Where did all the good go?**  
 **Baby, this is where you're dead wrong.**  
 **Alright!**  
 **Hey! Ho!**  
 **Here's to all the zeroes!**  
 **And every misfit,**  
 **And all my down and outs**

Sting, clearly thinking he was victorious, pumped his fist in to air. Even Makarov didn't bother to point to Fairy Tail. Lucy blinked, as he realized that he wasn't going to. "They... won?" she said weakly in disbelief, putting her hands on her head. Sadly, she saw _The Ashes_ deflating. Even Erza put down her drumsticks.

Sting called out to Lucy in a triumphant tone, "Hey Lu! Ready to join Sabertooth?" Only it wasn't a question in his voice.

Lucy glared at him, jaw set, only to see Natsu marching into center stage clenching his mic in his fist. As the crowd was still cheering for Sabertooth, his lone voice began to sing.

 **You feel like a candle in a hurricane**  
 **Just like a picture with a broken frame**  
 **Alone and helpless**  
 **Like you've lost your fight**  
 **But you'll be alright, you'll be alright**

The crowd grew dead silent while Lucy began to find hope again. Erza, Gray, and Lisanna joined back in.

 **'Cause when push comes to shove**  
 **You taste what you're made of**  
 **You might bend, 'til you break**  
 **'Cause it's all you can take**  
 **On your knees you look up**  
 **Decide you've had enough**  
 **You get mad, you get strong**  
 **Wipe your hands, shake it off**  
 **Then you stand,**  
 **Then you stand**

Without hesitation, Lucy stood up and waved her hands in the air. After a moment, those around her began to stand and cheer as well, creating a ripple effect in the audience.

 **Life's like a novel**  
 **With the end ripped out**  
 **The edge of a canyon**  
 **With only one way down**  
 **Take what you're given before it's gone**  
 **And start holding on, keep holding on**

Sting only just then began to realize what was happening. Childishly, Lucy stuck her tongue out at him.

 **'Cause when push comes to shove**  
 **You taste what you're made of**  
 **You might bend 'til you break**  
 **'Cause it's all you can take**  
 **On your knees you look up**  
 **Decide you've had enough**  
 **You get mad, you get strong**  
 **Wipe your hands, shake it off**  
 **Then you stand,**  
 **Yeah, then you stand**

 **Every time you get up**  
 **And get back in the race**  
 **One more small piece of you**  
 **Starts to fall into place**  
 **Yeah**

Pausing during the instrumental break, Natsu motioned to Lucy to come upstage. Slowly, and grasped his hand and was pulled up in front of the long past crazy crowd. Taking a deep breath, she leaned into Natsu's held out microphone.

 _ **'Cause when push comes to shove  
** **You taste what you're made of**_  
 _ **You might bend 'til you break**_  
 _ **'Cause it's all you can take**_  
 _ **On your knees you look up**_  
 _ **Decide you've had enough**_  
 _ **You get mad, you get strong**_  
 _ **Wipe your hands, shake it off**_  
 _ **Then you stand,**_  
 **Yeah, then you stand**

 **Yeah, then you stand,**  
 **Yeah, yeah, baby**  
 **Woo hoo, woo hoo, woo hoo**

 **Then you stand, yeah, yeah**

Makarov jumped onto the stage, gleefully in tears and shouted, "We have a winner!" while the crowd celebrated once again, but for a different victor. Lucy stared out at the audience, noting the especially happy faces of Fairy Tail. Sighing, she leaned against Natsu's shoulder. Surprisingly, he wasn't jumping up and down or celebrating like Lucy thought he would. She at least thought that he would gloat to Sting, who was busy shouting that they had cheated by having Lucy sing. The only thing he didn't realize was that they would have won, even without her.

"So that's what you were working on today, huh?" Lucy realized. Natsu just smiled and nodded down at her. "It was beautiful," she stated honestly.

"Thanks. It was inspired by you."

"W-wow," Lucy stuttered. No one had ever written a song with her in mind before. "Thank you. That's-" One look from Natsu stopped her. He leaned in closer, and Lucy flicked her eyes downwards, then mentally cursed herself for being the kind of girl who did that.

As the seemingly unnoticing audience's cheers seemed to rise, their lips met with conviction and a desparate force like nothing Lucy had ever felt before. She melted into the kiss and wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck, as his hands encircled her waist. In that moment, Lucy had never felt so wanted, or so loved. All too quickly, they broke apart to see Gray averting his eyes and Lisanna screaming, "I ship it!"

Lucy giggled. "That was surprising."

"You can always forget it ever happened if you want to," Natsu offered, looking a bit downcast.

"No way," Lucy replied with conviction. "I never want to forget this moment."

* * *

 **(A/N)**

 **NALUUUUUU! THE TIME HAS COME! I'm sorry if any of you don't ship it, but I did mark this as Nalu.**

 **Just to clear stuff up, though I think I made it obvious, there will be no Lucy Natsu Lisanna love triangle in this fic! I really don't like Lisanna portrayed as an antagonist, or Lucy as an antagonist, because I just love both of their characters. I want Lisanna to be a supportive Nalu shipper and mini matchmaker like her older sis XDXDXD**

 **Oh, and that was my first time writing a kissing scene, so sorry if it's awful. I've never been kissed before either, so... I really wasn't sure how to write it. I would really appreciate feedback on how I did with that, so I can improve :D**

 **Thanks!**


End file.
